


Between Good & Evil

by NemO3991



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Friendship, Movie Reference, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-02-16 19:14:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 64,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13060380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NemO3991/pseuds/NemO3991
Summary: "Run..." that's all I've ever done. "Hide..." all I've ever known. "....and don't ever look back to the past." All I've fought not to do.





	1. Haunting

**Author's Note:**

> 'Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?  
> Dreams of loneliness,  
> Like a heartbeat, drives you mad...'
> 
>  
> 
> Fleetwood Mac, Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Run..." that's all I've ever done. "Hide..." all I've ever known. "....and don't ever look back to the past." All I've fought not to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?  
> Dreams of loneliness,  
> Like a heartbeat, drives you mad...'
> 
>  
> 
> Fleetwood Mac, Dreams

** Canada 2010**

  
His eyes. Glaring. I could feel them on me. I slowly turned to see him on the other side of the room continuing to stare into my head. Nothing, written on his face. Blank. I glared back at him for a few seconds before it became uncomfortable for me to continue. He needs to stop that! I've never been so uncomfortable in my whole life and I'm forced to sleep on a cold, thin mattress on the floor in a secluded, small room away from everyone else and I would rather be sleeping on that right now instead of being watched while I eat! I get treated differently around here.  
Glaring down at the mess of food on my plate that I would rather starve over, playing with the mush that I couldn't stomach when I force it down. Astronaut paste. It actually looked like something I would sick up after one of my transitioning episodes. Grey/black metallic porridge. Do they think I'm a robot that eats other robot mush to survive in the world? I'd much prefer a pizza-- ugh, god! I miss pizza. It is not very advertising. Or is it just the lighting in the room? Dull. Damp. Cold. Dark. So thick with tension you can cut it with a knife. My eyes landed on the special rope around my wrists when I moved to get an itch on my finger, the rope ended at the centre of the table, whenever I moved to do anything it would scrape against my skin leaving behind a small patch of reddening irritation. It doesn't help that I'm also allergic to this stuff. It was only to keep me here until I could behave. I'm a bit of a reckless abandon. I knew that. They were coming to terms with it. I wasn't exactly a 'keep-in-line' kinda girl. Especially when they had no idea how to train me. My grandpa could do a better job and he's 78.  
I could still feel his eyes on me. Now he has become the itch I can't scratch.  
"Why do you stare at me? Shouldn't it be me staring at you, I would imagine your head exploding into a million pieces, it would be easier for me to get out of here." I said to him, turning back to him again. "I know what they do to you, you know." He just crossed his arms. He doesn't always talk to me. But it's true. I pick locks late at night when I can't sleep. There's a particular room he goes to after he's come back from being outside. He sits in a big complicated looking chair and they stick something into his mouth to stop him from biting down on his tongue then they do something that makes him wince and all you can hear are his muffled screams of pain. I've seen it in a movie once on a horror channel that mommy put on for me while she talked to a man in the kitchen. Jack Nicholson is in it, especially when he tries to get tall man 'Chief' to play basketball, they do that right before they remove a part of his brain. "They hurt you. Hurt your head. Force you to forget things you would've probably wanted to remember until the day you die. Can you die?--"  
"Just eat." He growled. I clenched my jaw trying to glare at him even harder than possible. My knuckles get hard as I grip my spoon.  
"Nah. It's shit." I growled right back. Nobody here likes it when I talk back, or when I talk at all. Only by code name. But I know I'm not a cool agent like in a James Bond movie. They push and pull me from room to room here. They force me to fight with people who I think would be great friends, but then they're not because they stare at me too and then punch me and hurt like he does. "Eat. Or you will be too weak to train." He continued, walking towards me.  
"Nah. Eat shit. And I'm not a soldier. I'll never be one of them or anything like you! Never! I wanna go home! Away from people like you." I couldn't help myself, all the rage inside just burst out of me. "You have no choice now." After he said that, I blew a raspberry at his face. He charged closer to me, I scrambled to stand up and move further away, shoving my plate off the table, it landed food first as I went to climb onto the tabletop and over to the opposite side but he grabbed my jerking leg, but I kicked his face with my other foot and jumped to the other side of the table before he flipped it to other side of the room with me still gripping the chains that held me. He swung his metal at me, I ducked out of the way so that he hit the restraint that was holding me, making the whole thing collapse to the floor while I tried to slide my skinny arms through the tightness of the rope. They always tied it too tight. He grabbed the starting loop and tugged hard. I found my strength to stand my ground, leaping forwards as he tugged again, bringing both my legs together and kicking him hard in his chest making him hunch over, I lost my footing and fell shoulder first. He sprung back, thrusting his metal arm to where my body was but I quickly rolled out of the way, keeping one of my feet on the ground to keep myself stable as I kick my leg to hit his but his reflex beat me to the hit and just held it before he slowly twisted my ankle the wrong way. Straining not to cry out in pain, like a arm wrestle, I tried to get my similar strength to push it back, it worked up until I could feel my heart picking up pace, which wasn't a good sign. My heart rate has always been weird. If it's quick or becomes too fast, I become weak but if I'm calm then I can fight against guys like him. I quickly used my other leg to awkwardly break his arm away. I wasn't completely free, I still had restriction with the ropes. From the floor, I felt two different hands grab me tightly and aggressively, I was being lifted into the air then was thrown to the side like a rag doll. My hip was the first thing to hit the wall from the rest of my body falling onto it. Through tired, blurry eyes, I watched him quickly grab the bundle of rope, his unwavering muscle yanked on my suit to force me to stand up infront of him with no struggle or strain.  
"What did I tell you? You're still weak." Then bringing his knee up to my stomach before throwing a fist into my cheek. My weak body fell to the floor. I can take the hit. This isn't the first time we've fought. The man with the metal arm stood over me, I could feel the warmth of the blood dripping from my nose and down my cheek as I clutched my belly, curling myself into a ball. That's gonna leave another bruise.  
"You aren't trying hard enough." That kinda hurt. The amount of times I've heard that in my life. He chucked the bundle at me, it hit my already bruising nose, I groaned in pain as his feet took him a few steps away. I can't let him get to me. He's not always gonna win.  
"Hey!" I called my voice groggy, lifting my tired body up to stand. He had stopped by the door, he turned to look back at me. He watched me as I put my fists up at him. "Come on. I can do this all day." In a blink, his face went from anger to confusion. "Come on." I held my stance, he walked over to me.  
"Why did you say that?" He asked.  
"Because I can." I threw a punch at him, missed. I threw another one and his metal arm grabbed the punch, twisting it so he could hold my arm behind me. His free hand came up to my throat and tightened it, closing the airway. I struggled to take anything in and tried to push him away. I elbowed him, clawed at the hand, attempted to blindly punch him but nothing worked and my vision gradually faded into black...

 

My heart thumping in my chest. I try to gulp, to get a gasp of air. It was only when I opened my eyes and clutched my chest did I take a breath. Breathing deeply, taking in air to my lungs and slumping back onto my pillows. It was only a dream. Well, a dream of a memory. I reach to the side and switched on the lamp, the dim light illuminating some of the room from the early morning darkness that came in through the cheap, thin curtains. Infront of the lamp was my phone which started vibrating to life. _Ugh. What now?_ With my free hand I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I checked what was going on. What seemed like thousands of messages and numbers of data filled with videos and contacts started coming through. The world is awake! Either that or a slow connection again. I make zombie movements out of bed and walk over to my desk and open up both laptops to log in. I plugged in my phone into the side which instantly connected and sent everything over before it could explode from an overload.  
"Wake up, honey." I spoke to the way too bright laptop screen. _Shit. Sometimes it's no wonder I can't get any sleep. Brightness having an impact on my eyes._ Anything coming needs to be shared between the three otherwise it's too much. In the past I've adjusted them anyway, I need little mechanical things like this, travel packable things so that I fit everything I need on them. I think I'm a hoarder for electronic stuff. I can't get rid of any information or notes. I never know when I might need. But, I can only hold so much. My still sleepy eyes blink in the direction of the small, old box television, switching it on, changed the channel a few times before I stopped at the news and letting it blare through the room.  
_**"... Ivan Vanko, adamantly confronted billionaire Tony Stark at the Grande Pre race course in France this afternoon. Luckily Mr Stark aka. Iron Man, walked away without a scratch as he got into his Iron Man suit and put a stop to Vanko's aggressive and costly rage..."  
**_ "Meh." Blinking it off again. _I don't feel sorry for show-boaty people like Tony Stark. So up their own behinds!_ Grumbling to myself, as more than a handful of videos started to come through. It's going off this morning. What time is it anyway? I look to the corner on one of the screens. 3:47 am! I have a serious sleeping problem. Not insomnia but getting rid of the nightmares.  
I continued to watch as the data rolled on to stream into the program for the next hour or so, I get up to make myself coffee and breakfast or whatever I have in my bag, meaning a packet of cheap pre-made coffee from a mini store and a couple of breakfast bars. I can't keep fruit with me otherwise it gets mouldy, especially in already mouldy places like this dang cheap hotel. The streaming on my laptops and phone was so unreadable or encrypted, for some... for me, any information on the program's that are installed (created by yours truly), are ultimately only readable if I gave permission for others to break down and code, otherwise it's untranslatable, untraceable. Hacker officiant. Not even a smart-ass chimp could be trained to understand this. Plus my brain is always very happy when this stuff comes up. I can read it like a children's book. Easy. Simple. If my programs can't get to it or get through it because it's too much or someone is so paranoid they set up viruses for a firewall like a friggin' German battleship in a war, then that's where my brain comes in. I could figure out how to get through a maze in seconds. Taking down those little firewall glitches some kisses of my own. But this dim light flickering on and off is starting to get on my nerves, it's making my eyes ache. I'm actually glad that I'm not one of those chicks that goes to raves. I'm 17, nearly 18 years old and I just want to go into a club and say, "hey could you turn this repetitive shit down, please, thank you". Don't get me wrong, I love music. Classic 90's R &B, classic rock. Even the cheesy stuff is better than the stuff that sounds like it's on a broken lyricless record.  
This motel is so down under it's bills. I can afford a better room but I almost got into 'hassle' with some authorities some time ago and needed a hide out and so with low intentions, I hopped into the furthest and most crappiest hotel ever, with a fake name, of course. Iris Harvey a student from Los Angeles College relocating to Canada to further my knowledge in mechanics and engineering. I've dealt with worse living circumstances, trust me-- Ugh! I need to wake up and this lighting isn't helping!  
Glancing down at my hands, I know what I was about to do was going to hurt but it's kind of worth it. This only ever occurred if I was desperate.  
Breathing out a defeated sigh, I place my hand infront of my laptop screen, holding my focus then turning to where the lamp was across the room, extending my arm out with my palm open out to it, concentrating hard not to let out too much too fast, a flow of mistful form of electricity flew over to the bass of the lamp like a small thunder cloud, as the cloud gathered around the lamp it caused the light to get brighter and stronger, lighting up more of the room. When it was enough to hold on it's own, I took my hands away. An electric shock sparked my hands and wrists. Looking down, a familiar black troll took over the normal colour of my veins at my wrists to my palms, looking like a blossoming black flower, I waited a few slow seconds, taking control of my breathing, before it returned to it's natural form.  
Still crap, but better.  
I do sometimes wish I was part bionic, but then, where would my feelings go. Wait, what am I talking about? What feelings? I'm a lone travelling mutant freakish hacker and I work best alone anyway. Who would want to work with me or my powers? The mist, the energy, is pretty much the only thing about my powers that I can handle. The electric eel part of everything? There's only so much that I can control but even if it's the little things, it's still difficult. There comes a certain time, and I don't know when, but transitions interrupt whatever I'm doing and my powers take the time to upgrade, regenerate or get worse or all of the above, the obvious part that sucks about having these powers is that I really have no idea when these transitions will start, or end for that matter. I think the longest one was a couple of weeks ago, I was just watching reruns of pokemon in a hotel room a few blocks away from where I am now, and it just hit me. I was curled up in ball of cold sweat for six days. Six friggin' days! I had some serious munchies after that though. Not eating for that amount of time really sucks, especially when their electric bill here is shit. It's a good thing that I move around from place to place a lot, I get to work it off. I've been staying in Canada for the past year, the longest I have ever stayed anywhere. It's usually from 4 days up to 3 months, never a year. It's peaceful. People are cool. I've been working at a lumberjack's logging fields as an engineer and mechanic earning good money. You may laugh at that but there isn't much really. I've been needing some more money 'cause I've been scraping into my savings which isn't the best of ideas. Anyway, it didn't take me long to really get moving to get ready for work. The thing with this is, no one can know who I really am. Whether or not someone will recognise me, I can't risk it. I've come this far. When I turned 13, on my birthday, I had officially become a missing person. Now? I'm dangerous to discover. Since being involved with HYDRA, (against my will) it's difficult to wriggle out of their grasp completely. It's been too long now, I can't go back. Too far gone. There's just no way I'm doing it, I need to keep moving forward. I don't want to be found. Ever.

 

 

 


	2. A Day In The Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If you want something you never had.  
> ..... you have to do something you've never done."
> 
>  
> 
> [Unknown]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read the news today, oh boy  
> About a lucky man who made the grade  
> And though the news was rather sad  
> Well I just had to laugh  
> I saw the photograph.
> 
>  
> 
> The Beatles, A Day In The Life

My grip tightens against the metal joint. Feeling the cold embrace of the energetic glow coming from somewhere inside of me and crawling upwards through my palm. I felt the the pipe latching onto and melting into the air filter, after a few seconds I take my hand away.  
"Harvey! Harvey, come on. Service." A couple of taps on the car close to where my head was, one of the guys called underneath the truck I was working on. I blink away the white matter glow in my eyes, the energy source had helped fix the inlet pipe which had snapped, almost completely coming off, hopefully now it'll be stable as steel, a guy that brings it in every other week or so can stop trashing this vintage beauty. He's also my bosses younger brother. I work miracles with some of these motors and I'm not about to let that ratbag ruin the reputation I have going with taking in the broken trucks and cars, even a motorcycle or two, and send them away clean and almost spanking brand new. But I've honestly given that guy too much of my time. I swear he takes to a bmx rally and purposely wrecks it. Mind you, with this garage being practically just down the road to the abandoned fields, there is a high chance that people came up with the idea to get fun from it. On the skateboard, I scoot out from underneath my cosy spot. A hand came into view. I look up to see Lou, my big bearded buddy putting out a hand for me to take, which I regret when he instantly yanks me to my feet with a laugh. Lou has been the best man a scrawny like me could ever have. He's honestly like the father I never had. We've even talked about that subject when we were first getting to know each other, I also got to know Justin, a fellow mechanic, pure Canadian but quiet. I think Lou told me that he's always been like it, then there's Buck, he's part of the connected forest harvesting team. According to Buck, he's doing a great job with taking the old or damaged trees. Just to say, I've seen it. He enjoys way too much. Plus he goes hunting which I think is doing something motivationally speaking for him. I don't ever wanna ask.  
"Come on, darling or boss man will get mad." I put the spanner into my belt, wiping my dirty hands on my work dungarees walking over to where Jacob was stood talking with a blush-red faced woman. She looks a little older than me, long brown hair, pretty and like she's in a bit of a rush, her words come out in smooth yet stutters.  
"But I can't leave it here for that long. I need to get back home within that time."  
"Ma'am, that's the best that we can do for anyone in short notice." Jacob had his arms crossed and a cocky grin on his smug face. A boss baby. If only his Ma was here, he mets at the sight of her, it's only when she's away that he becomes alpha-male on this place.  
"What's going on?" I asked once I reached the pair. They stop talking when I make it over and stand between them.  
"Deer in the headlights." Jacob replies nodding and then pointing to the vehicle just behind the woman, parked on the drive. _Deer in the headlights._ Not for literal sense according to boss. It usually means : a small minor collision with perhaps some big inside damage.  
It would have been incredibly obvious if she had in fact hit a deer and Jacob would obviously be sounding more disgusted or humoured by it, but with him there's nothing beyond the smugness. And I've seen that Sons of Anarchy episode with the deer head smashed into the front window of the car. Hands up. Vegetarian for a reason. The woman gives Jacob, a confused expression, not knowing what to make of that reference as I scanned her vehicle. It took me a while to get used to his "codenames" for particular regular wrecks. He even has a small booklet for them. I may have to look through it again though.  
"I'm not sure how quickly you can fix it but I really need it, I've got to get back in New Mexico within the next few days." I wandered over to the truck to inspect the outside damage, she glanced my way but kept her anguish on boss. _Not too bad. Slightly dented hood. Broken headlight....s. Template can be screwed back on, she has it loose and standing on the inside windshield._  Stepping back, with both hands I grab part of the dented hood so I could click it open shifting a thick cloud of smoke hit my face. I wave my hands in front of my face to try and stop it going up my nose, I cough at it in retaliation.  
"Lady, if you haven't noticed, we're not a mechanics workshop for outside company vehicles. We work with cutting down trees, we have the materials to fix cars but if it's not on our insurance then we can't help you. We don't fix cars, it's not our policy. We only fix what's working here." Jacob spoke as I poked my nose deeper into the bonnet, I grabbed my torch from my belt and peeped into the nooks and crannies. _Jesus. How is she driving this thing?_ Pipes are so bent inwards that they could burst if she drove over any bumps, which wouldn't be too far, just down the road is the fun ride for dirt bikes, it would completely bust the guts of it. The handle to release pressure has ... broken off?  
"Then what's with the Toyota truck in your garage?" Jacob quickly turns to peak over his shoulder at his brother's truck that is pretty much nested in the middle of the garage. He sighs deeply as he turns back, his lips in a thin line.  
"Sorry lady. We can't help you."  
"Please, I'm desperate for your help--" I step away to look back at the lady. Jacob and some of the workers go to walk away and got back to work while I stayed behind.  
"Miss?" She hears me coming up behind her. "I can do this for you."  
"Thanks but--"  
"No, really, I don't mind helping you. What time or day do you have to leave?" The lady quickly looks down at her watch.  
"The latest ... 6:00 am on Thursday?" I think about it for a second. Those pipes are gonna be hard to fix.... manually. Which really only leaves me two days to do it.  
"You probably won't survive past the carriageway about 10 minutes away. I'll see what I can do for you." Her grin was huge, beaming, infectious even. "Just pick it up about an hour beforehand." She went to walk away getting her phone from her pocket. "Miss? When you come by later, ask Malcolm, the guy at the gate over there, for Iris Harvey."  
"Who's Iris Harvey?"  
"Me. The car I'm working on right now is almost done and then I'll get to work on this right away but it should be done .... I don't know, depending on the internal damage, maybe... I mean, I could have it done by tomorrow." The lady let out a big smile then ruffled through her bag, taking out a small piece of paper.  
"Just give me a call when your done. Here's my card. Thanks so much, Iris. This is such a big help. I owe you one."  
"It's no problem at all, Miss..."  
"Jane Foster."

  
*******

"Ow!" I dropped both the pressure handle and my sandwich on the table.   
"Harvey, you alright?" Lou asked he walked by the door to our little office. I nodded with a hand over my mouth.  
"Just bit my tongue is all." I waved him off, swinging back around to the desk.   
"Told ya those healthy sandwiches were no good--" I swivelled around quickly, chucking a pencil at him. Missed. Hit the doorway instead. He scarpered off with his belly laugh. I sucked gently on my tongue, tasting the iron flavour of my blood.  _He wouldn't know a healthy meal if it hit him in the face._ Ugh! Paperwork is so boring and religious. Excuse me religious dudes out there but... I can't deal with the fact having to do bosses brother's paperwork everytime he comes in. They don't give any ground rules about taking care of his stuff. I reached for my tea.  
"What a reckless abandon." I mumbled to myself, sipping on the sweet cranberries and honey that ever scoped my mouth, apart from when it gets into what I just bit into. Ugh! Can this day get any worse?  
"Harvey. You busy?" Ahh, boss baby. I turn to see him leaning on both his hands in the doorway. Obviously and purposely tensing his arms. _Blerr._    
"Sure." I put down my cup, away from me while he moves over to get a chair by the door and bringing it over. "What's up?"  
"I need to talk to you about the status. The numbers are good on your part, you do a really good job,"  
"But..."  
"But I can't let you work on that lady's car. Apparently it's a loan one anyway--"  
"But that's nothing compared to what I do around here. Especially with how much repetitive work I have to do on your brothers truck--"  
"Well, that's gonna come to a stop. That truck is my mom's that he just takes advantage of when she's not here."  
"What like you taking advantage of my paycheck every time he comes with it?" Jacob stares at me blankly.  _I've just screwed with my paycheck._ "Jacob--"  
"Finish that lady's car for all I care. But right now? That check for this month's work has been cut." He stood up.  
"You can't do that!" Jacob quickly turns back to me.   
"Deal with the fact that working here means no conveniences with outside jobs. That kind of job is for a car workshop, here, you only fix what we need so that we can continue to work. If you can't follow that, then you can leave. Your move." He slams the door as he storms out. I hear him yelling at others just outside.   
"Damn it." As you guessed, he's easily tempered. More so in the past, like, three weeks, I think. He's been getting easily agitated than he used to be. He used to be a nice guy, but I guess the muscle gets to his head. But still, I told Jane that I would help her out, and what, now I have to choose between helping a random citizen and keeping my job. Whatever happened to humanity?   
Something's really driving him, though.  
"Hey Bean." Ollie, another bearded mechanic friend, seriously these guys belong on Sons of Anarchy.   
"Hey Butt." He groaned as he went over to Lou's desk.  
"Get drunk and your face lands in a cigarette bowl, one time." I couldn't help but laugh. Then I remembered Jacob. "Honestly, I was tired from the week after my divorce, you would've thought that you would let it go? No."  
"You sit on a bean and it gets stuck to your butt cheek and you would think to call me 'butt', but no." I stand to go over to him. "Good to know where you guys are lookin'" He chuckled as he eyed the computer screen in front of him, going through the list of names of the drivers. "Ollie?" He hummed a response. I checked out the window to see if Jacob was in ear shot. Nope, all clear. "Have you noticed anything weird about Jacob? I mean you guys have known him longer than I have."  
"Kind of hard to tell, nowadays, Bean. Although, there have been some hiccups with the online service from the brother company to us. Money has gone so quick that we can't even afford some of these upgrades that Lou wants in."  
"Money? What about the money?"  
"Bean. You're asking the wrong person about that kind of hunch. Jacob won't tell you, clearly. But I can tell you one thing,"  
"What?" I got my chair and scooted it over to sit next to him.  
"Jacob's mother is gonna be back in town on Thursday. And if she finds out about this?" He shrugged as he trailed off before continuing to look on the computer. I felt slumped, but this is feels unfinished. Why would so much money be disappearing? I'm not sure how much but?   
"How long, Ollie?" He snapped his focus on me.  
"What?"  
"How long has the money been tampered with?" He shrugged again, furrowing his eyebrows from the screen down to the sheet of paper he had.  
"About.... I don't know... a few weeks? But it's happened once before when Jacob first took over from his dad after he died." While he was talking, I looked to where Ollie was pointing to on the page then to where he was on the company staff page. "Anyways, it's probably why he's so antsy." He started scrolling, and I lost it. "Probably an anniversary of Pickard's death day."   
"Ollie, wait, wait, wait! Scroll back up." He did so, almost going past it. "Stop." I grabbed the sheet and looked at it again and then to the screen. "Who's Beck?"  
"Err..." Ollie grumbled taking a look. "Beats me. Probably a company employee. Not sure." I sighed deeply, turning away.  _I'm going mad. Probably starting to come up  with any excuse I can possibly think of to hate Jacob even more._ "This was on the 10th of July. Miss Mabel, Jacob's momma who I'm pretty sure you've--"  
"Nope."  
"Okay, well this was the first time in a while. She's doing some type of deals over in South Dakota. It's probably nothing, Bean. Okay?" Slouching, I turned to look at him, giving Ollie a small smile.  
"Okay." He ruffled my hair before standing.  
"Dont' preach too much into it. You joining us for a drink tonight?" Jenson's Blues Bar. Justin is quiet but he plays wicked guitar.   
"Can I think about it? I'm not feeling too good. Plus, I just bit down on my tongue. That's always a bit nauseating." He lifted his eyebrow as he held onto the door handle.  
"Really? That's nauseating?" _He's doing a tight lip thing, it looks funny because with so much beard it's like he has no mouth._  
"Well, I did watch this video one time when a doctor scraped muck off of someone's tongue--"  
"Enough. That's it I'm outta here. Talk to you later."   
"And then he was gone." I spoke to myself, lifting my hands dramatically. My fingers tapped the Lou's desk in the quiet atmos of the office.  _Quite a dilemma, huh? I want to do a good dead and fix a car for someone who desperately needs it, but then I can't because boss baby has it in the suddenly strict contract that I can't do that. Then I'm probably the last to know that he's been blowing money on ... things that aren't for work._ My eyes catch the screensaver light on the computer screen.  _Ollie forgot to turn it off._ I reach over and wriggle the mouse. I wheel myself closer. The staff login comes up.  _Automatic log off, what a great idea._  
"Not while I'm here." I log in as Lou _. Thanks for leaving your login details here._ "Sorry I have to use you." I checked everywhere on the board for the name, Andrew Beck.

  
Who are you?

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please excuse the suckage writing! But I've had this idea for a while now and I'm very fussy about how it needs to be, even if it isn't the best.
> 
> Hope you like!
> 
> P.S. Click or highlight and copy the link to know what "Iris" looks like. I think she's sweet!  
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/e3/57/9ee357af084ed9ae622a8372aad886b0.jpg


	3. [unknown file name]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The price of being a sheep is boredom,  
> the price of being a wolf is loneliness,  
> choose one or the other with great care."
> 
> Hugh Maclead  
> Google search : 'when the hunter becomes the hunted"

Hearing the click while turning the key startled me awake. Literally having to push and unstick my face from my door to save me from sleeping standing up. It's happened one too many times before. Other than having to recuperate in a dense, dull coloured apartment that was $45 a month, this past year has been mostly a break for me because before that I couldn't rest, I had to keep moving. For the first time in years, I'm in a place that I can rest my body from the stress of being caught out. Speaking of first times, I've actually been able to get my belongings from my bags and scatter them around my room without having the worry to quickly pack them away. I can't remember the least amount of sleep I've had, I've definitely slept it off being here.   
I sleep-walk into my apartment, the door slams shut when I slump my back against it. _No. Come on. Bed is just over there. Move your legs, girl._ I'm so tired! I found absolute zip on Andrew Beck. He wasn't registered on the company's login. Like Ollie said, he might be a new employee to the brother company.   
Then why wouldn't he be even registered?   
As soon as my feet hit the mattress, I collapse to my knees and flop onto my somewhat cosy bed. With my eyes closed, I reach a lazy hand upwards to snatch my pillow from its groove and pull at it so I could rest my head on it. _I think I landed on the busted spring. It's kinda digging into my neck._ Feeling the urge to get comfortable, I roll over onto my back. _Better._  
"Good evening, Katherine--"  
"AAAGH!" I scream, waking up and clutching my chest. "Holy crap."  
"I apologise for startling you." I roll over to glare at the ear studs on my bedside table.  
"Anji. I thought that someone had snuck into my room." I breath in deeply my fingers pressed onto the bridge of my nose. _I forgot about you._  
"Yes, apparently I always appear at inconvenient times."  
"Not necessarily. Just... when I think my brain is going to say something, you say it instead." I picked up the studs/Anji and replaced my the coloured button studs I had in my ears already and clipped Anji in. The little buzz she gave out when she connected to my inner manipulation, it used to make my ears ring but it's just an electric shock. _Not entirely sure if that's better or worse but..._ "You charging up okay?"  
"Micro-fuse is charging from 31%. Thank you, Katherine." I sighed before getting up. "How was your day, Miss?" Anji's sweet voice came through the sleepy haze which was about to get shot down by espresso.  
"Good. Definitely productive. Being torn between quitting my job and doing a good dead to another human being, I can't think of anything superior." I switched on espresso machine that already had the little cup underneath, I watched it drip for a few seconds before going over to my laptops, opening both their lids, bringing them to life. Switching my focus over to the small box t.v., it switched itself onto the channel I had it on last. "Ooh. Frankenstein. Agh! Black and white version and it's only just started! I wish I had some popcorn with me."  
"You finished the last packet last week whilst you were watching the 1933 King Kong. You do have your secret stash." I gasped, rushing over to where I kept my secret stash of candy, chocolate and potato chips. I'm not saying anything more than that. You don't need to know.   
Anyway.  
When I had grabbed the candy and chips, I threw them onto my bed then went into the kitchen to grab my espresso, sliding out one of the studs and slotted Anji onto a makeshift spot on the laptop's surface. Sitting down on the bed to continue watching Frankenstein, I couldn't concentrate on it.   
Andrew Beck.  
I rubbed the fading tiredness from my eyes, sipping some of the espresso, blindly watching the movie that I would usually be stuck to, but this guy, _why is it bothering me so much? Is there more to him? I've never seen him around the building._ I could feel my face was in a state of scrunch as I repeated it. _Never seen him around the building. Never seen **him** around the building._  
"Katherine?" Anji's soft artificial voice came woke me from my daze again.  
"Yeah." I looked over to where half of her was on the laptop. The laptop screen was blinking and scanning multiple things at once. "You alright?"  
"Yes. I may need your assistance as there is an outside source trying to get past your firewall." I shot up, putting my cup on the bedside table, sleep, the movie, relaxing all forgotten. Sitting down at my desk chair, I slid out the half of Anji and put her in the slot beside the other.   
"Is there any identification?" I searched and typed quickly on the other laptop. I checked my main firewall. Indeed, someone was trying to get in.  
"They have unlocked the main frame of your access codes. Unable to identify."  
"What?! How? How is this happening? When?" My heart was thudding against my chest. Trying to get through and shut this person down, but I was getting too dizzy.  
"Your blood pressure kit is in the drawer beside you." Feeling too faint to do anything, in a blur, I open up my desk drawer, straight away picking up the blood pressure breather mechanism and the small case and put it on my desk. "I will try to hold them off for as long as I can." I opened the case and took out the tiny seringe, uncapped it and stabbed the needle into my tricep, then unravelled the wire from the mechanism and linked it to the bass of the needle still in my chest before pressing the blue button which then quickly pumped one shot of Angiotensin-converting enzyme. I instantly breathed out, my body relaxed into the chair.  
"Katherine? I have managed to stabalise the firewall. Enabled the backup firewall but I don't think they are going to give up." I sighed, taking out the needle and throwing it away. My focus went back to the laptops.   
"Did you pick up anything on them."  
"Only there destination." Anji brought up the map onto one of the screens. _Princeton? Cute._ That's way beyond my thirty mile radius. Then something clicked.   
"Anji shut down firewall one and two. If they try to get past three. Set up the trojan. I have something to do." Blinking off the t.v., I rushed over to the door.  
"And if they try to get to me?" I paused by the front door. _She's right. If they get to Anji then I'm done._ I turn to look at the studs on the other side of the room. I have to do this properly. Something I haven't done since I've been here. I thought I could just blank that part of me away, but this is getting too close for comfort way too quickly. Some creep online has tried to get to Anji before. I can't let that happen again. She's pretty much the only family I have. I go back into the room and change into the clothes that held a dark ego over me. Rustling through my duffle bag, I grab the things that I needed.  
"Don't worry, Anji. Your coming with me. If we set up the trojan before I leave, it can program itself to virus up this bitch."  
"Language."   
"Sorry." After I set up the program filled with a box of the plague of locusts. Sliding Anji back into my ears, I got to the door, I caught my reflection first. I haven't seen myself like this since... _**You're not trying hard enough! Hit me!**_... Taking in a deep breath, I thought how I've come this far since I left home when I was thirteen. I'm a seventeen year old girl or woman, living without my parents, well my mom is somewhere still in California, I guess doing what she was doing the last time I saw her. I've never known my dad so I don't need to worry about him. The only real people (and artificial program) that I know are the guys at work, my grandparents, but they live in Russia, and of course Anji. I created her because I was talking to myself all the time and not getting enough decent feedback, because although talking to yourself is either a span of intelligence or doing it too often is basically you going crazy, but Anji is pretty everything. If I don't have Anji, then I will go crazy. Letting out the deep breath, I switched off the lights, and walked out the door.

  
*******

  
The security lights were brighter than I expected. The building seems more daunting in the dark. The high gates were locked.  _Obviously._ Staying in the shadows, I got closer to the fencing, keeping a look out for the security cameras as I went. Glancing upwards, there was one just above my head, then there was another on the other side of the gate. 

"Anji?" I whispered, putting my hood up. Can never be too careful with who hangs out around here at this time of night.  
"Yes, Katherine?"  
"Scan the perimeter for anymore security cameras and a thermal scan for anyone that might be inside." With that, I squeezed my eyes shut, when I opened them again I gave Anji the digital through my eyes, I saw what she did and she was my coordinator. Spotting about seven more surrounding the whole area of the building on the outside.   
"I am receiving a few more readings from inside the building."  
"Right, I guess that means we'll have to try to find another way in. Those security lights are going to kind of tough to turn back on manually. It'll be pointless taking what they have. I'm already holding back so much." Forgetting about going through the front door, I stayed in the shadows going around the side. Thank you Buck for showing us hungover idiots another way in. Reaching the back, the company had an electric fence for burglars who would do ... well, what I'm doing right now.  _Damn it!_ Whether I like it or not I'm going to have to do this.  
"I'm gonna get fired anyway." I slowly reached my hand out to touch the wire fencing, taking meditating breaths, a short, sharp electrical spark hit my hand. I yelped stepping backwards.  _It didn't hurt._ I furrowed my eyebrows at what just happened. "It didn't hurt."  _I know it's been a while but I didn't expect it not to hurt._ I steadied my breathing and tried again. The same thing happened but this time I gripped the electricity fumed wired, it really doesn't hurt. I can feel something inside of me balancing it out all over my body from my fingertips all the way down to my toes. I stared straight ahead at the back door. One security light glaring out just above the door.  _You won't mind if I take you out?_ Looking down at the ground, I picked up a stone, gripping it too I poked my hand through a gap, wrist and fingers facing up to God and with a quick whip with an eye on the target, the stone did a beeline and crashed the light. Apart from the glow like a halo from the front of the building, everything at the back was completely black.  _The Lady In Black is back!_ "Shut up brain."  
"Katherine, I don't mean to worry you, but we haven't got much time. The person that was tracking you earlier has gone through the first barrier."  
"Don't worry about a thing, Anji." I reply, blindly slipping a foot into one of the gaps and making my way up the ten foot fence. "He'll only get so far."  
"One more thing, would prefer night vision?"  
"Yes, please." In a matter of seconds my vision went from being blind to ghostly grey. Hitching my leg over the barbed wire, trying really hard not to rip my jeans, I managed to put my athleticism into good use. I was halfway down the other side-- "Ahh! Cramp." My hamstring gives out. I had to quietly gasp my pain.  
"Everything alright, Miss?" I rest my head against my hand while the other hand holds onto where it hurts.   
"Peachy." A few seconds later I shake the pain away and forcefully continue. When I got to the back door, I shook the handle slightly. "Anji. Can you do the thermal scan from here?"   
"Yes, right away." I wait a moment. "I'm picking up thermal status." I sighed in frustration.  
"How am I supposed to get in without them hearing me? And who stays in  _this_ building after curfew?" I asked myself leaning my back against the door.  
"There is another way in." Furrowing my eyebrows. "The window on the first floor." I whipped my head both ways, to my right and up, there it was. The kitchen window was wide open. With Lou's scary unsecure wooden ladders I'll be sure to fall to my death before I even reach the window.  
"Thank you, Buck for being a smoker!" I whispered with joy. "Oh and thank you Anji for telling me." I jogged over to the window and climbed in. 

It's so quiet in this building, it's weird.

"Anji, where did you find the thermal status?" I asked quietly behind the kitchen door, I softly opened it. The massive room for the garage was completely black.   
"It's coming from a room, down the hallway a couple of doors down."  _Very specific._ Closing the door behind me, I scope around attempting to not trip over anything or make any noise. I creep in the direction Anji leads me. "Wait!" I halt. "How are you going to do this?"  _I wish I'd thought of that. I can't just go up to them and be like, boo! That doesn't work._   Scratching the back of my neck, tilting my head back. My eyes see the beams that are holding up the older part of the building.  _I remember now. This place used to be like a bank or something but once they moved this got sold to Jacob's grandfather. They kept some of the old parts for the offices and whatnot, then knocked down and converted half of the building into a garage. Jacob's grandfather was apparently obsessed with old working machines._    
"The beam. I have to find a way to get onto it." Light on my toes, I ran up the stairs to the third floor that was being renovated, meaning : holes in the floor!

Walking up to one of the rooms that was being redecorated, I peeled back the heavy plastic curtain to reveal an unfinished floor. 

"Anji, gimme the thermal vision." She coated my grey sight with a clear one. I looked around on the floor and saw a red, orange figure underneath this room. "Identification scan." I asked while I, gently as I could, climbed onto the frame work. The pillars seemed to be holding my weight. I could just about see the glow of the light the person had on in the room. They didn't want to be seen either.   
"I am unable to make a completely clear identification." I nodded.  
"Okay. We'll have to do this old school." I reach down from the hoop of my jeans and untied the black scarf and wrapped around the lower part of my face. Crawling down on all fours, bracing onto the frame, I lean down until I could clearly hear what the person was talking about.  
"...then what's the matter. Not enough money?.... Well, that shouldn't a problem, I've already given you the money I scraped out of my dad's company." What? "...No! You listen to me you stupid nerd! You're meant to be hacking into that database or whatever and finding out what I suspected! .... I don't care if you're getting viruses, I don't even understand what they are!" Leaning upwards, I rest on the beam closer to the darkened corner. Clinging onto the beam, I lower my legs first down into the room. "What do you mean you can't do it?! I'm not giving you any more money until I get those details." Hanging from the ceiling, I watch him in his chair. I climb onto the next beam like I was doing the monkey bars until I was in the darkest part of the room, still being careful not to make a sound. "Okay? You're through?"  
"Katherine? They've entered the third barrier."  
"Trojan and shut yourself down."   
"Be safe, Katherine."   
"Who's there?" He called, pulling the phone away from his ear, searching the around him. That's when I saw his face.  _You have got to kidding me._ "Yeah, I'm still here, Andy." Seeing that face enraged me even more.   
"You bastard." From then my mind took over. I felt like I was taking a long nap but my body was in hyper drive. The feeling I was hiding deep down came out to say hello. 

It wasn't until it was over that I finally woke up from my nap.... standing above the body that was now slumped and lifeless in the chair. I blink away the glow.

I killed Jacob Mabel. Boss baby is dead.

 

  
_"Hello?...."_

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the bad writing.


	4. "I Owe You One"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You are responsible for the predictable consequences of your actions."
> 
>  
> 
> Noam Chomsky

Jacob Mable.  
  
Dead.  
  
It's still sinking in.  
  
I'm slouched, knees against my chest. I try to hug them tighter. Warm tears pour out of my eyes and river down my cheeks. I'm finding it hard to breathe.  
  
I've done it.  
  
I've done it again.  
  
_Why? Why me?_  
  
_"Hit her like I told you to!"_ _His voice echoed against the huge dark silver walls. One of them standing only a few paces infront of me. Her hands stiff at her side, a really pissed off face pointed directly at my thirteen year old self._  
  
_"Strike!--"_  
  
_"No." I whispered to myself, clenching my fists in defense like a boxer, although knowing it wouldn't help. I was still branded with the black eye, a split lip and few other bruises from the metal armed soldier this morning after I refused to do training._  
  
_The girl, only a few years older than me, immediately charged towards me. I squeezed my eyes and braced myself. Nothing came. Not even a rugby tackle. I slowly opened my eyes only to see the girl hitting nothing. Her fists and kicks were hitting air. Anger still ripe as she fought about a couple of feet away from where I was._  
  
_I looked around at everyone. There eyes staring at what was between me and the girl._  
  
_Squinting around me and then to the impact of the girl's attacks, black vein-like sparks illuminated with the multiple battles of impact. As if in slow motion, I watched how a dancing wripple of black and light purple veins of electricity climbed throughout a small part of my bubble._  
  
_So caught up in my gaze, my eyes travelled as the veins disappeared just above my head, which is when I met the eyes of **him**_.  
  
"Why won't you leave me alone?" I whispered to myself. My hands crawling in my hair. "Please leave."  
  
_In that moment, a strong force hit me in the back. I stumbled forward. My bubble was gone and so making the efforts to hit me even greater and manageable. I turned my face to catch the girl's eyes as she raised a fist with a hard and angry face before I could comprehend what just happened, that group of knuckles thundered down to hit my cheek. My head whipped the other way as she kicked me in the stomach. A guard who stood by the weapons chucked one to her which she caught without even glancing up from me. Once she got a good trip on her weapon, a small blade, she threw herself at me but I lifted a leg to stop hold her by her abdomen. My leg like a spring crept backwards towards my body, much to the agony of my ribs as they screamed for me to stop straining, but I didn't want to be hurt anymore. The girl didn't like this reluctance very much and so stabbing the inner meat of my thigh. I screamed, reaching upwards to grab her hand that clutched the blade. I tried kicking and using my knee to hit her to try and distract her or something but she just got more pissed off. Stomping one foot beside my body and holding my whole body down by pressing a knee down on my possibly broken ribs before placing the blade down on my collarbone, she put pressure into the blade as she dragged it down my chest. I screamed as I clawed at her hand and arm to try to get her to stop. It was like she was trying to cut me open._

_All I could do was lay there and take the pain._

Softly, I reached down from my cheeks, down to my chin then my neck and over my collarbone where my scar was, now a line of a lump of healed skin. Stroking the long scar, my tears abruptly stopped at the memory.  
  
_"Enough!" His voice boomed. The hitting stopped. I attempted to lift myself but as soon as I did I had to cough harshly, resting my forehead on the floor as I clutched the burning pain across my chest._

 _He intimidatingly stalked towards me as I continued to cough. I had to stop myself from even breathing as his shadow loomed over my body. From my hunched form, I turned to glare up at him._  
  
_"Little girl. That was quite special. No wonder you are here, hm?" He kneels down. "I could have had you killed when I sent him..." the metal-armed man, "to hunt you down." He glared at me right back._  
  
_"Then why didn't you? What do you want from me?" An unwanted lonely tear streaked down my cheek and splashed onto the back of my hand that was holding me up. "Why am I here? What do you want from me?"_  
  
_He sighed, nodding to the guards that stood at the doors before everyone especially **him** walked out of the room. The General walked away, only coming back with a chair and sitting it confront of me. I placed a hand on it, the chair moved as soon as I did._  
  
_"Ever heard of the term 'diamond in the rough?" I nodded hesitantly when he sat down on the metal seat which looked quite comfortable considering this whole place being so cold. No warmth. Just the cold. No comfort. "You are special to us, young Katherine." He reached down to pat my cheek. "Too special to kill. Even if it can be oh, so tempting." He growled as he gripped my hair and then shoved me to the floor. He stood straight, shoving the chair backwards making it collapse on the floor as he looked down at me again. "We will continue your training until you can control your powers indefinitely. You are a soldier in training for HYDRA now, miss Linsen." His voice continued to echo throughout the training hall. "Do not fail."_  
  
_With that he walked away leaving me with two guards who came forward, stopping a couple of steps away, staring at me. I lifted myself the best that I could without making a sound, I held back the grumble while I clutched my ribs and glanced up at them. Like robots, they stood with their guns prepared for any fancy stuff like earlier but I simply raised my wrists up to them in defeat._  
  
_"I'm tired."_

....  
  
"I'm so tired... I haven't slept a wink. I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink..." I softly sang to myself still in the daze.  
  
"Hello?" Burrowing my eyebrows at the sudden sound of a voice. I looked over at Jacob's body. It can't be. My eyes searched everywhere in the room for the source when I saw the unhooked telephone. Getting up, I slowly stalk over to Jacob's desk when the voice came again. "Hello? Is anybody there?" Hesitantly, my fingertips graze the receiver before picking it up and holding it to my ear. "Jacob? Hello?"  
  
"Hello, who is this?" Hold your breathe. I tried to remember the name of this guy. _You remembered him perfectly earlier. Your brain, moi, I feel like I'm getting old here!_ Placing my hand over the receiver. "Shut up, brain." Taking my hand off.  
  
"Who is this? Where's Jacob?" Son of a bitch.  
  
"Is this... Andy? Andy Beck?" Another pause. _Please, brother, speak now or forever bold your peace._  
  
"Who is this?" I played along. Shocked.  
  
"Wha... Jacob didn't tell you did he?" Heavy nervous breathing could be heard over the other end of the phone. "I knew he would do this."  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"I knew he didn't want me to get involved in this malarkey. He can be such a sweetie but a royal pain in the back side." I exaggerated a sigh, taking a seat on the desk.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about. Where's Jacob?" I turned to the bloodied body, his baby face was becoming disturbing to look at.  
  
"He's busy." Placing my foot on the side of the chair, I rotated the office chair around so he was facing the wall. "Look, he's talking to his mother on the phone in the other room at the moment. I don't know if Jake has told you anything about me, at all. But he's let me in to what you guys are doing about this err... New girl." _Yours sincerely._  
  
"Okay, just back up a second. Jacob let someone in on this? And how do you know my name?"  
  
"He's strange in that way. He must have told me everything about you but told you nothing about me? Am I right?" He sighed.  
  
"Yeah! So you know her?"  
  
"I work closely with her, yeah. I knew she was keeping something."  
  
"But a missing person?! This is crazy! How can someone not want to be found?!" Oh, I could tell you stories boy that you just wouldn't be able to resist.

"Everyone has their reasons. But Jacob originally called to say that err... well, the girl? She knows. And she's fest up to what she's been doing. We're dealing with it." I sighed. "And I'm afraid your services are no longer required."

"What?! When?!"

"I'm sorry, Andrew." His voice continued to yell down the phone as I placed the receiver back down, hanging up. Breathing a sigh of frustration, tension grew in the room with only me and a dead body. Turning to that dead body, I leaned into his bloodied ear.

"I just want to thank you, boss. I've had a good year here... But it seems as though your begrudgingly ignorant persona and big nose in my business, I have to leave again. Don't worry. No one will remember me. I'll can be sure of that." Quietly stalking out of the office and back of the building where I came in, by the front gate on the side, left to rust or scrap was Jane's car from this morning. 

_It's kind of weird to think that this erupted all because of her car breaking down or whatever she did to it._

*******

I woke up the next morning to the sound of knocking at my apartment door. My last snore gravitated with me as I lifted myself off of my pillow. After rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I glanced over at my alarm clock. 

**5:00 am.**

_Who the hell is knocking at this time?_

Getting up out of bed and slipping on my black Nike joggers, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I went and answered the door.  _I'm sure how much sleep I actually got last. Probably not much._  

"Hi. Morning, Iris." Jane Foster.  _Huh?_

"Morning, Jane?" I spoke, unsure of what was actually happening. "What are you doing here so early? Come in." I casually let her in but she only wanted to stand in the hallway.

"I've come to pick up my car--well, it's not my car it's a company car." With crossed arms, I stood opposite her just wanting to sleep standing up. 

"What?"

"You messaged me earlier about how you had spent all night fixing it."

"Jane, I have honestly been to sleep since then, or at least tried and--" I stopped myself when I came to stand by the window where, low and behold, was a very much fixed loan car. "Okay. I guess I did." I jumped slightly feeling a hand on my shoulder. 

"Sorry. Are you alright, Iris?" Blinking a few times, string at the car. I nodded. 

"I actually fixed-- you've come for your car."

"Yeah, I mean, once I got your message I was thrilled of how quickly it's finished. It'll mean that I can get back earlier."  _How the hell did I do this? No wonder I'm so exhausted right now._ "Tell you what, why don't we go get some coffee? You look like you need the fresh air."  _FYI, saying this to a coffee addict is dangerous territory. There is no way I can say no!_

That's how I got here, waiting for Jane ordering in my favourite hot beverage in the warmth of a small coffee shop at the airport. As soon as you step inside this coffee shop you get a delightful blast in the face of the sweet caramel with a blend of the bitter tang of the coffees and lattes.

It feels like a dream. Unless I'm really that weird.

I snuggled a little deeper into the bright orange padded seat. I hadn't changed out of my blue vest and Nike joggers, I had covered up half of my bed wear with my only olive green jacket. Any piece of clothing I had worn last night was stuffed back into it's personal space in the travel duffel bag.

"Here you are. One large caramel frappè latte." Don't judge me. She asked for my usual, there was no harm in upping the size of my usual. I didn't even realise my eyes were closed.

"Thanks, Jane." She smiled as she looked down at her tickets. "What time is your flight?"

"Supposedly, 8:35. But you know how it is with... do you fly often?"  _Take a wild guess._

"Yeah, well, I'm originally from California. I moved here shortly after finishing college."  _Liar, liar panties on fire!_ Ignoring my brain, I watched Jane's eyebrows lift as she sipped on her coffee.

"Really? What's it like there? I mean I've gone so far with how my job is." I shrugged, lifting my tall cup. That sweet caramel parading into my nose and making camp.  _I could honestly sleep right now and have this drooling all over my face. To me, it's a blanket in a cup._

"It's alright. It was just nice to move here for some cool breeze for a change." She chuckled. "What is it you do again?" I had to sit up, my body clock is used to this now. 

"I work as an Astrophysicist. I was a doctor for a little while but I just so enthralled by space science. Where I'm based, its practically in the middle of nowhere but at night... it's the most beautiful thing. The sky is so vast it--" Jane looked up at me from her gesturing hands. "Sorry, I'm rambling."

"No, it's fine. You know, back home, I hardly went out anywhere, I would either read books, draw or watch documentaries. It sounds troublesome but I really wasn't. Either that or I would be fixing something that my babysitter, would lay out on my mom's coffee table and I would just put together." I cleared my throat thinking about how much time my mom actually never spent with me. "Only once did he let me fix his watch. He trusted me or thought that I was so good at it at the time that he put his pocket watch onto the table, with the right tools and making sure I had enough snacks and water." Me and Jane shared a giggle.

"I can remember the first space documentary on channel 5. It was the most fascinating thing I had ever witnessed."

"Channel 5? Do you mean--"

"Cosmos: The Personal Voyage." We both looked at each other before going into an in depth conversation, a full nerd fest of what we absolutely loved about that show and how others tested against it. I told her how from that one test of fixing my babysitters watch is how I became obsessed with fixing and making mechanical parts and how last time I saw my babysitter was at my science fair at school. He had helped me with a few pieces but he let me have all the credit. 

I didn't see him again after that.

" _Flight 109 from Calgary Airlines to New Mexico now boarding."_ Me and Jane shared a look. We walked up to the gate to her flight. Jane looked at me with a strange expression, like she was adding something up in her mind or wanted to ask me something.

"How old are you, Iris?" I scrunched up my face in confusion. "It's errr... have ever thought about studying astronomics before?"

"I've thought about it but I've actually been able to--"

"Why don't you come and do some work with us."

"Us? But I've never done any work involving astrophysics before." She shakes her head checking behind her for the moving queue of people.

"That's fine. You'll be working alongside another girl, Darcy, she's amazing. You'll get on great with her." Quickly she stumbles around through one of her pockets and eventually pulls out a small white card with dark blue writing on one side and passes it to me. "I know you're already working for that ass of a boss but I think this would be an amazing opportunity for someone like you." I look down at the card.  _I can't keep up with this woman! She's talking too fast! Say something._

"Why are you doing this?" I asked gripping the card.

"I know I said 'I owe you one' but you deserve so much better than fixing company trucks. I can't go into much detail now about what I can offer you right now. Just think about it." I nodded. She hugged me quickly.

"Miss are you getting on this flight?" The gentleman called from the gate door. Jane turned to him.

"Yeah, just a second." She turned back to me. "Think about it?"  _Why not? You need to get out of here anyway._  

"Yes. I'll be there. I just have a few things to sort through first." Jane's smile was infectious.

"That's great! You have my number. Call me anytime. I can promise you won't regret it." She shook my hand before she rushed over to the man. I waved her goodbye as she jogged through the door.

_What the hell just happened?_

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to let the people who read this story know that from now on my writing is going souly off the top of my head straight onto here and there may be a long break because when I was wrifing little sketches I based it fdom watching the movies. My laptop's hard drive died and I lost all of my ideas for this fic. I can remember the majority of what I had in mind, thank gawd.
> 
> So whatever happens from now on, I hope whoever is reading this batch understands and continue to like this or (kudos) this fic.
> 
> Thanks y'all x


	5. No Clue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Clinging to love, escape a father and mother  
> She offers some other way out of the hole  
> She's overachieving, chasing her dreams  
> And coming down slowly, yeah, it's out of control...'
> 
> Wolf Alice - Moaning Lisa Smile

**Queens, New York**

A young man, perhaps in his early to mid-twenties, cracking his knuckles in the sleeves of his black suit jacket. His freshly clean pressed white shirt was now receiving a royal soaking from his armpits from nervous sweat. This young man has just been informed that his boss is on his way along with a prisoner. Ivan Vanko. The name alone made him shiver. 

He took a quick check over at the suitcase that sat beside one of many drones.

He continued to fiddle with his fingers as he grew more nervous as footsteps grew closer to where he stood. It wasn't until he looked down at his hands did he realise just how shaken up he had become. 

"Ah! Andrew. My main man, well, except this guy right here." Justin Hammer said confidently shaking the young man's hand, introducing and practically already gushing over Ivan Vanko who looked the young man up and down.

"Good afternoon, sir. Errr... I have the err..  the prototype of the formula for you." Andrew spoke, his not leaving his mouth as confidently as he had practiced. Hammer raised eyebrows at the young man.

"That's good to hear. I knew you could do it. Right. Mr Vanko, this is where we do it. This is my humble abode." Hammer spoke and showed Vanko the quite large warehouse full of model drones that stood exceptionally tall measure to how Andrew felt. He felt like a bug about to be squashed with the information he was about to tell. "Here they are. I’m very excited. They’re combat-ready. I may have done a few miscalculations and rushed the prototype into production. Sue me. While you have a look at that I just have to see this gentleman for just a second." Andrew gulped. Hammer turned to him as Vanko climbed up beside one of the drones. "Right, Andrew. Show me what you got."

Andrew rushed over to grab the suitcase with Hammer in tow as they walked over to a white table. Hammer glanced back to check up on Vanko but looked back once he heard the suitcase open with a small squeak, revealing a tube of red lava like substance with thin glowing yellow streams.

"What is this?" Hammer asked while Andrew picked up the small tube, which was as big as his hand, showing his boss what was supposed to be a highly weaponised formula to fit into each arm of the drones. "Is this what my money was paying out for?"

"No, sir. This is just the prototype of the formula. The ingredients weren't that easy to get a hold of--" Andrew was suddenly pushed against the table with Justin's hands clutching his collar.

"Now you listen here, Andrew. You've been a part of this project for a long time now... but I swear to you on your mother's grave that if I find out that  _my_ money has been spent on your gambling habits. You'll be out of this project and you'll be a dead man." Hammer growled in his face. Andrew gulped once more. "When we test this... I expect a lot more than just a handful. Understand?"

*******

**Calgary Airport, Canada**

"Next please." I moved forward in the queue behind an elderly lady and who I think is her son, and  _holy moly_ I swear this woman isn't noticing the odour of her hygiene or lack of.  _Cats! She smells like a dozen cats or a bag of 'em. Gahd!_ I stifled myself taking in a long breath. 

It was quite busy at the airport at this time in the afternoon. I looked around hoping to bring my face out of the gravitational pull this woman's B.O., I watched as people in suits casually stalked to their designated platforms and a small family, a mom, a dad, two kids, twin girls, the mom was rooting through the dad's travel backpack and took out two packets of snacks for the little girls who giggled in delight at the treats as the mom zipped the backpack up again. I had to tear my eyes away from that picture. It's been a long time since I've had that.  _A long ass time. Last time y'all saw your mom she was hysterically pushing you out the door. Last time you saw your grandparents--_

"Don't." I spoke softly, hoping that nobody heard me speaking to my head as if it were a seperate person.  _You love it._ The sound of the bell rang and a 'next please' distracted me for a second.  _Don't fret, stanky pants is next._ "Oh, my god." I think I said a little too loud because  _stanky pants_ was now looking right at me. I rushed to "check" for my purse, taking it out and sighed dramatically as if I'd lost it. Stupid, I know. The elderly lady smiled shortly before turning back face the front. I put my purse back into my pocket not without hearing her say, "That was close." 

Two bells rang out,  _stanks_ moved over to till four, slowly while I took the closest.  _She coulda had number two! Unless she found it ironic. Number two for number two._ I shook my head and gave the lady my passport. 

"What can I do for you today, ma'am?" I l glanced down at the small white card Jane had given me.  _All in good time._  

"One ticket to New York City, please." She nodded and clicked on her computer.

"Will you be returning or one way?" I sighed.  _I can't believe after a good solid year I have to do this again._  

"One way." Scratching the back of my head getting at a good spot to distract myself from tearing up when I saw the waiting area. After I had paid and wished a patronising 'lovely flight I moved myself to the waiting area where I would be for the next hour or so. You can never tell. I may just be here for a few hours. 

Stuffing my tickets and passport I to my pocket, I took off my backpack and placed it down and sat down on one of the metal seats with it at my feet. 

 _"Reports have been coming in of a death or suspected murder at Mable Forest Harvesting company. The police and Calgary chief detective are looking into the incident as a murder scene. The next report content veiwers may find disturbing and/or upsetting. Robert Langely reports."_ I suddenly felt the urge to rip out my ears.  _"I'm here at Calgarys Logging and Forest Harvesting bootleg company that has been run by the Mable family for the past 65 years. The heir to the company was found dead, mutilated at his office desk. Police are taking this as a murder case from the massive injuries from a sharp blow to the head ... to broken ribs all while seated in his office chair. This is one of the harshest and most brutal of murder cases in Calgary..."_  

I numbed out the rest of what was being said.

I did this.

Deep down, I'm not sorry. I'm only worries about if I had left anything.

*******

A black car pulls up just outside Mable's parking lot. A man dressed in sharp business attire head to toe steps out of the sheen Acura model. He makes his way over to the open gate that was barred off by police and forensics and ducks under the yellow tape whilst removing his sunglasses. 

He pressed the small device that was slotted perfectly in his ear and spoke discreetly as he continued to his mark inside the building.

"Excuse me, sir. You're not authorised to be at this--" The man in the suit snatched his I.D. from his suit jacket and flashed it open at the police officer so he could see the name, status and a lovely mugshot.

"I'm Field Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Coulson. And it is partially my business to be here. Does anyone know of any tampering with the electrics in this building?" The police officer shook his head but pointed a finger towards the building of the murder scene and followed in tow to Coulson.

"There has been no signs of any break in. There is a security camera but the detective and a couple if officers watched over the tape of last night and..." he shrugged, "nothing."

"How is there no evidence on the recordings?" 

"Come and see for yourself." The officer lead the way to the specific tent where they were holding any evidence that may seem suspicious. The detective was seated away from the small t.v. that was paused at a moment in the security film. "Detective Barcley, this is Agent Coulson. Err... Agent the detective has been doing nothing but trying find even the slightest figment in the film."

"Yes. Thank you, Jim. You can leave." The detective spoke with a hint grudge and tiredness. Coulson roll the few steps towards Barcley and they shook hands as the detective stood and rubbed his face. "I'm stumped."

"Is there absolutely nothing on the footage? Isn't meant to be a 24/7 working camera?"

"Yes but for some reason the footage cuts after so long. Which the forensics have called it moments before the hand rocked the cradle." Coulson looked at the man confused.

"Why that?" He asked while going over to the evidence table which held basically nothing. All apart from a single ear stud. He stared at it with curiosity.

"They recorded the death to be between the hours of eleven at night to one in the morning. But the cradle thing? I think it's like a metaphor for a matter of pace and fate before death came knocking."

"You must be tired and over working yourself  if you're also talking in riddles. Wrong universe, sir."

*******

Sliding and almost making a cringeworthy bump of butts with a random woman who was sitting opposite me while I tried to put my carry on into the cupboard above my seat. With a deep, happy/sad sigh as I collapsed into the padded comfort by the window.

"Goodbye Canada. It was nice knowing ya'." I said to myself gazing out at the grovel. The horizon seemed... empty.  _You're doing the right thing. You can't getting caught. But you're also using something inside of you that you shouldn't be. You're not used to it. You need to find someone that can help you!_ "Shut up brain."

"Ma'am?"  _Crap. Balls. Did she hear us?_ I looked up at the air hostess who motioned for to put my belt on as we were taking off. I must have really faded out there. "Would you be ordering any beverages or some food while we are in flight?" My tummy grumbled right on cue. Air hostess, my eyes blurred into focus on her name tag...Shelley.

"Shelley. Yes," quickly clicking my belt together. "I ordered a vegetarian meal and may I have a ... scotch with a squeeze of lemon, please?"

"Yes, of course." And she was off. I sighed back and gazed out the window again. Ignoring the baby suddenly erupting into whines from somewhere behind me and the hostess giving the airline instructions about the oxygen masks and life jackets blah, blah, blah.

I'm just gonna sleep for the next four or five hours.

*******

Phil Coulson found it strange that there was no more evidence of the murder apart from the singular ear stud with a spot of Jacob's blood on it. There was nothing else. Perhaps the stud came off as the killer repeatedly bashed in his skull.

While saw a commotion going on at the gates. The police were trying to hold back a group of five or six bearded gruffs trying to get into work. Phil watched and jotted down the things going on. He also caught very slightly of one of the men trying to charge his body passed of the officers whilst gripping the fence to keep his weight stable. What was weird about was the brief moment that his hand came into contact with the wire fencing, he let go before he came round and charged again.

What was that?

Coulson kept a note in his mind of that and moved towards them. The man that had his little spark with the fence caught sight of him and stopped. 

"Excuse me. Please stay calm. We are doing what we can so it can be dealt with so you can get back to work but unfortunately we can't do our jobs if we have to keep you at bay." Coulson said calmly to the group.

"When can we come back? What are supposed to do until then?" One asked from the back.

"This is all being taken care of. I promise. Now please move back." 

"What's going on?" The bearded man that caught Coulsons attention earlier spoke.

"What's your name, sir?"

"Lou. Lou Barry." Coulson nodded.

"Officers let him through. I would like mister Barry a few questions." The officers did so but not without a scrawny lad stepping in.

"Lou!"

"Just go home Daniel." ....

"How long have you been working here mister Barry?" Coulson asked as they sat in a tent on the other side of the grounds closer to the back garden.

"Just call me Lou I haven't been called mister Barry in years. And to answer about nine years. I used to work with Jacob's mother in a bar on the other side of town before she finally accepted her place here."

"Do you know the Mable family well?"

Lou chuckled. "For as long as I can remember. When I was seventeen I worked in a garage mending second-hand cars with miss Mable's brother before he passed a few years later." Phil cleared his throat. 

"Lou, you understand this is an investigation for the murder of Jacob Mable?" Lou visibly gulped glancing down before lifting his hands to rub over his face and down his beard.

"Poor guy. How did it happened?"

"He was brutally attacked. His face barely recognisable." Phil looked at a piece of tissue that played flat on the table with the only evidence. Placing his finger on the corner of the tissue, he gently dragged it closer to him and over to Lou. "We're not sure who the suspect is. But they must have held something against Jacob Mable. Do You recognise this ear stud." Lou stared at it. 

Something in his eyes read that he knew who it belonged to but he had no clue. 

"Do any of the guys wear anything like this?" Lou shook his head.

"Are you kidding? There just as hesitant to put on a damn bandana."

"So no male employees would be missing an ear stud?" Lou shook his head again. "Apart from Jacob's mother, has there ever been another woman working here?" Lou just continued to glare at the stud. There was something about that he just couldn't put into words. He reached a hand towards it but was lowered away by Coulson. "I'm afraid you can't touch evidence mister. I just want to thank you for your time. And ..." Phil noticed how Lou couldn't take his eyes away from the stud. "Lou." He snapped his fingers in front of his eyes which seemed to get him out of the focus.

"Sorry." The bearded man apologised rubbing his forehead.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just feeling a bit dizzy." He explained his hand going to the back of his head where he could feel the pain agrovating.

"It's probably just shock from the news." 

"No it's..." Lou gulped down a lump in his throat, in seconds air trapped in his throat leaving no more oxygen to his brain, he collapsed in a heap in front of everyone.

*******

Three down, more to come.

Downing another scotch with a touch of the zingy lemon, I've never wanted sleep as much as I do now. I could honestly feel the bags swelling under my eyes. Hearing the clicking of the heels coming back up the walkway, I slid myself sideways to stop them.  _Crotch! Ahh! Mayday! Mayday! Random guys crotch!_

"Whoops. Sorry." I let him glare at me as I leant almost out of my chair to tug at the air hostess' skirt. "Excuse me." She gave the person a 'One moment pointer and came over. "Shelley. Could I please have one more of these?" She gave me a look. I know that look. I've had it plenty of times from bartenders in the past.

"Haven't you had enough of those?"  _Patronising bi--_ The voices stopped when I wriggle the tip of my finger in my ear.

"I don't normally take medicine or anything otherwise to dull the pain or try to get some sleep. But.... I really need to sleep until we get to New York." She continued to lather me with the look. And sighed.  _I knew she would cave._

"One more and then that is going to have to be all."

"That is fine. Thank you." Shelley took my glass and walked adamantly to where she would making my drink.

Glancing around the airplane, my eyes caught onto the majority of the pack of people already fast asleep.  _Dang! I wish it were that easy for me._ To my left I saw a pink hue covering a patch on my arm. I followed where it was coming from outside in the clouds. The sunset.

Sometimes I wish I could either fly or be able to sit on the clouds and watch the sunrise and sunset all day.

I'm drunk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! 
> 
> I know this is early and I'm not the best of writers but I've been thinking of doing another piece of work involving the person I'm portraying as Kat and the rest of the actors/actresses in Avengers such as bloopers and interviews for each sector of the movie sequels and whatnot.
> 
> What do you guys think? Yay or nay?


	6. Escape : Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Time to escape the clutches of a name,  
> No this is not a game,  
> It's just a new beginning.
> 
> I don't believe in fate but the bottom line,  
> It's time to pay,  
> You know you've got it coming.
> 
> This is war!'
> 
> 30 Seconds To Mars - Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peaked at 200 views!
> 
> This is cool you guys! Thank you for taking interest in this fic. If you guys like this fic and want to see more, please give this a Kudos! It'll show me that you are out there!
> 
> And one more thing, if you have a Netflix account, contact them and ask them for more Marvel movies as they only have the second sequel of Thor and Spiderman and only a couple more but no Iron man at all! Marvel fandom needs more Marvel on Netflix.
> 
> Click or copy and paste this link, https is always safe, it's a request page and you don't need to sign in.
> 
> https://help.netflix.com/en/titlerequest
> 
> Thanks,  
> NemO3991 x

"I'm telling you sir, there was nothing at the sight. Nothing but your average diggers, lumberjacks and a murder scene." The Director on the other end sighed shortly. Coulson checked around the clearance at the hospitals empty parking lot, apart from a few cars.

 _"Those electrical currents weren't coming from just anywhere. Was there any evidence?"_ Coulson checked the time on his watch. 3:19 pm. Mister Barry had been in the E.R. for just over half an hour. 

"Nothing but one half of what might a part of a diamond stud set. White gold. Ms Mable is out of town right now but according to a few witnesses I spoke to earlier, they have no idea where the stud has come from." There was a few breaths of a pause before there was a singular hum of understanding.

 _"So according to the time of the electrical disturbance ... It's round about the same time as the murder. Coulson, this is no ordinary case... have you found anything on that stud. DNA sample? Anything?"_ In that moment, a field agent called Coulson from their seat inside a black van close to side of the hospital. He walked over to the agent who showed him something coming off of the stud which was placed on top of a touch pad separately connected to their laptop. 

"I don't believe it." Coulson said more to himself. "Sir, you're not going to believe this." 

The laptop screen showed a direct connection to the other half of the stud.

 _"Coulson? What's going on?"_  Coulson and the other agent watched as the yellow spot on the map moved gradually but surely over a vast piece of land. 

"Whoever this person is... they're on the move. But not far. In fact, sir... they're heading straight towards New York."

*******

_The familiar sound of footsteps was the only thing that penetrated my ears. Although the only thing that I could really do was fidget slightly in my place on the cold steel chair, while my ankles and wrists were bound in tiresome defeat... and itchiness. They know I'm allergic to nylon but they continue to get the same rope for me personally._

_Aren't they sweet._

_I feel so drained._

_It feels like so long since they last fed me. They'll torture me with water so that I get a few drops and the rest goes to the floor. My head is getting heavier and heavier with each passing hour ... or is it days now?_

_Ever since I've been failing to be their perfect result of a walking, talking weapon, I've been sitting in this room having nothing to do, even if I could move, no one to talk to. My mind is becoming a separate person. A detached organ that likes to talk utter crap in my ear. It's my only source of communication. My only friend. Well, if you count my rumbling empty stomach another form of communication._

_The door freaks open and closes loudly with an echo that causes a vibration in my ear drum._

_More footsteps. Getting closer but I can't lift my head. It's either I've been locked in here for too long or my other senses are kicking in save from my starvation but the smell of clean metal is the first thing enters my nose._

_"I know it's you. Top of the class dude. You couldn't be Terminator even if you tried." He was quiet. Maybe he was glaring holes in my head as per usual. Finding the strength, I managed to lift my head to look up at him. Yep. Glare. But it seemed different when I tried to glare back. "Come on, Tin man. Just do your job and get it over with." He made a move to come forward until he was standing right infront of me. My ears picked up on a sudden sharp glide of his knife coming out of its sheath at his hip._

_This is my last sight. The sharp blade coming towards me. In a cowardly way, I squeezed my eyes shut, awaiting for the pain to take me away. When I die, I wanna come back as an Australian Red Back spider. Peeps down under know how to leave arachnids alone. Wait. Where's the pain? Slowly, I lifted my head again but he wasn't standing infront of me. I could feel something tugging at the rope around my wrists before a snap and my arms being able to dangle beside my limp body. The same sensation happened with my ankles and legs. All that was left was a slump of my body in the chair._

_No longer than a few seconds later, a stone cold metal arm crept under my legs and an ordinary muscular arm slid behind my back. Oh, God! I ache so much! I yelped in pain as he lifted me. I instantly felt his eyes... but somehow they weren't angry._

_"You have to be quiet now. Do as I say and don't say a word." I silently agreed. He might not scare me, but he holds order above me. He's assassinated. I've bruised and maybe a few bits marks._

_He carried me down the dark halls, his steps echoing. But before he could reach a corner, he placed me down on the floor so that I rested against the freezing marble wall, he reached into his pocket for something. A sack? What am I the scarecrow now?_

_"Put this on and don't say anything." Again, I silently agreed. He pulled the sack over my head. It smelt like old straw ... potatoes...parsnips? Being blinded, I jumped slightly as he went to pick me up again and we continued on. I heard voices in the distance._

_Where was he taking me?_

_"Breath shallow."_

_"State your preference." A deep voice questioned as my stayed limp in the Metal man's arms._

_"Imbalance code 621, soldier 564." Hey that's me. What's imbalance code though? "Struckers orders to personally get rid of the body." They must have aloud him to do it. Bury the body! What is he thinking! This is A plan? My heart pounded in my chest through my shooting anxiety. A few unlocked doors later and I was flung onto the floor of a truck. I was still cold but at least I could feel the breeze caress my skin for the first time on I don't even know how long. That may have been a painful landing, but I honestly wasn't sure how long I was meant to stay 'non-verbal' for. From underneath me I felt whatever I was on chug, making my whole body shake with it. My body slid quickly to the wall of what I was on._

_Okay I think I can take the mask off now._

_I slid the hem of the sack upwards, the breeze reaching my neck, chin and cheeks, over my eyes I had to quickly cover them back up as I caught the bright colour of the sunrise. I was on the back of a truck, sliding uncontrollably, so much so that I gripped the side and pulled myself with the amount of energy I had left so that my body was pressed against the side. I stared at the beautiful colours surrounding the rising sun. The oranges, the reds, and a hint of gray-blue. It was something that I haven't seen in so long, I had almost forgotten what it was like to just be my young self again. Although I used to sit on my ma's lap as she kissed the top of my head. It was rare for that to happen. But all of that's gone now._

_My body skipped with bobbing of the truck, my hand slipped from its grip. I moved to the fast movements of his speed chasing. That was until he came to a halt that I slid forward way too quickly and hit my head._

_I woke up to someone shaking me._

_"Hey, wake up. Wake up!"_

...

"Excuse me, wake up. It's time to wake up." My eyes shot open to see the back of a seat. Oh, crap. I'm still on the plane!  _How long have I been asleep?_

"Sorry. I don't often get a good sleep." The red haired air hostess giggled as she helped me get my bag from the cabinet above me.

"It's alright, miss. It's nice to know that you had a pleasant flight." She says passing me the bag as we made our way to the door.

"Yes I did. Thank you." 

I rubbed my eyes as I walked through New York airport, untying my hair. Slapping me in the face as I combed my fingers through it, trailing downwards until it hit just below my belly button. After collecting my other bag, the monster travel bag that looks like it belongs with a hiker. Pulling out my phone from my pocket, I quickly looked up the best hotel or motel in New York.

The Hilton it is.

I started off towards the hotel, pulling my hood as I did.

*******

Ollie Plight. An old friend of Lou Barry. So when he found out that this old friend of fifteen years was in E.R.... well.

"Where is he?" Another tall bearded man came crashing into the hospital, he was immediately held back by the members of staff from S.H.I.E.L.D., four more agents had turned up early that morning to get a report from Coulson, although not much could be said about Lou. "I said where is he?"

"You're gonna have to calm down, sir." Coulson spoke, his voice rising as the man fought to get the grip of three agents off of him. "Sir you are in a hospital. Please calm down and we can talk." He seemed to calm a little but the rage or fear was still lingering as he sat down in the private waiting room.

"Who are you people? Is Lou under arrest or something?" Coulson stood infront of the man, though with a bit of space, he looked down at the man. He recognised from the group of men that hounded the gates trying to get into work.

"We don't handle things like, mister..."

"Plight. Ollie Plight. I work with Lou at the logging factory." Coulson nodded.

"Before we continue, will you promise to stay calm under the circumstances that your friend went into an unknown state of cardiac arrest, he survived." Ollie nodded, worry taking over the anger. "How long have you known mister Barry?" 

"Fifteen years. Or just over."

"Has mister Barry ever suffered from heart problems before?" Ollie shook his head.

"Not a thing. He's the healthiest forty over year old man that works at the factory." Coulson thought for a second. No heart problems, fit as a fiddle, and yet suffered a cardiac arrest after touching that fence. 

"Is the fencing around the building electrically wired?"

"Only after closing. We get teenagers riding dirt bikes and quads in the fields across the way after dark. Ms Mable doesn't trust them ever since we had a break in the day after her husband passed." Coulson glanced at one of the agents and nodded. She pulled the plastic bag from the wallet kept at her side and past it over. Coulson unravelled the bag to reveal the stud earring sitting at the corner of the bag. It had been cleaned and sterilized by the forensics team after they retrieved as much DNA as possible, although the talk this morning was about how they had found nothing but Jacob's blood on it. Nothing else. Not even skin cells from who the stud was pierced into.

Ollie stared at the stud for a moment.

"What is this?" He asked as a doctor was walking over to them.

"Do you recognise it at all?" Ollie shook his head, not for a moment taking his eyes away from it. "Ms Mable wouldn't have been wearing something like this before she left?" Ollie shook his head again. "Mister Plight?" Coulson flicked his fingers infront of Ollie's eyes which seemed to snap him out of it. 

"No. Ms Mable is allergic to white gold." 

"Was there any other female working at that factory, mister Plight?" Ollie's eyes crept right back to the stud. "Okay take this away, it's not helping." The agent put the plastic bag back into the wallet.

"Excuse me," the doctor spoke looking up from her notes. Coulson turned around to her. "Are you here for mister Barry?"

"Yeah is everything alright?" Ollie asked, out of his trance. The doctor sighed.

"Mister Barry is fine. He's in a bit of shock so he does need to rest." Ollie sighed deeply and rested his head in his hands.

"Thank you doctor." Coulson said going to turn to the agents while getting out his phone.

"Although..." Coulson stopped in his tracks and turned back. "Whatever happened at the garage. He has no history of heart disease or arrhythmia,"

"What is it?" The doctor looked between Coulson and Ollie.

"Last night he was perfectly fine and showed no signs of anything being serious. This morning, however we did an early check on him and the results came back with a positive effect possibly inflamed by stress or by a genetic history of it." 

"Please doc, is he gonna be alright?" 

"We found a tumour in the occipital part of his brain."

*******

 

7:00 pm.

You would think he would be home by now. I've been squatting at the back of his apartment building for twenty minutes and all I've seen is a pizza guy, an old woman on the ground floor chucking out her cat, I can just about see a woman or a dude doing the dancing aerobics thing and last but not least... A drunk guy who might not live around here, pissing on the side of the building.

This place is a freaking rut. 

Beck lives here? Damn.

I managed to track his ass down easily around here. Although without Anji it's just that little bit more difficult.  _You hurt the only friend I had in years, you asshole. Maybe it's about time someone showed you what karma really looks like._

He eventually got home from the bar. Ugh! Vikings fan! Ugh. It's literally like vomit in my mouth. 

I quietly climbed the fire escape up to the third floor where I remember his position on Anji's tracker. With great difficulty, I opened his window and slid myself in.

_It's time._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that you guys are probably wondering, "A marvel fic with hardly any marvel characters in it?" 
> 
> Just you wait! ;)


	7. Escape : Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Time to escape the clutches of a name,  
> No this is not a game,  
> It's just a new beginning.
> 
> I don't believe in fate but the bottom line,  
> It's time to pay,  
> You know you've got it coming.
> 
> This is war!'
> 
> 30 Seconds To Mars - Escape

**Malibu, California**

7:00 pm.

A dark haired woman walks down the hallway of a lavish home as she carried a box. She wore a fitting gray party dress, although looking more professional and formal rather than ready to celebrate tonight's birthday party of her millionaire associate.

"Do you know which watch you’d like to wear tonight, Mr Stark? Your guests have arrived."

She says walking in to see him buttoning up a wine red shirt as she places the box down on the dresser before shaking up a martini for him.

"I'll give 'em a look." He finishes buttoning the shirt, leaving a few of them open and turns to Pepper Potts assistant. "I should cancel the party, huh?" Pouring the contents into it's shapely glass, she walks over to him.

"Probably." 

"Yeah, cause its--" 

"Ill-timed?" Handing over the martini.

"Right, sends the wrong message." He sighs taking it, cautiously glancing at Natalie whilst taking a sniff of the rim of glass before having a sip.

"Inappropriate." She watches as takes another sip. _"_ Is that dirty enough for you?" Clearing his throat he goes to answer when the lights in the room flicker for a couple of seconds before streaming back to normal. They had both caught it. Although there was no rumbling of an earthquake or notion of the lights switching off altogether, they shrugged it off.

"Gold face, brown hand. The Jaeger." Natalie walks back over to the box, collecting what he wanted then making her way back over just as he's placing the beverage down. "I'll take that... why don't you just err.." 

*******

**S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, New York**

7:00 pm.

" _They're heading your way."_ That's all Director Fury needed to hear from Coulson before giving an agent, who stood at the door to his office, a nod of approval.

A couple of years ago, unlike the small accurance with one of the hellicarriers on his journey back to New York the other day, there has been a similar but more powerful and unstable accurance that came out of nowhere before. None of his agents knew where it was coming from. The only thing they understood during this action was how their firewalls were getting broken into, yet with no identification or digital fingerprint of who could be doing it or how they were able to keep themselves anonymous to such a protected system.

The lights in his office and the hallway and perhaps the whole building, flickered for a few seconds. He blankly glanced up at the lights as they gained power once again. Somehow he knew.

It was a pest to him back then. An itch he couldn't scratch. Now? Five years later. 

The itch has come back.

*******

7:00 pm.

Andrew Beck walked up the stairs to his apartment complex. The only place he could afford as the expendenture of new equipment, paying numerous people who knew little about a missing girl and then there's the ingredients to Justin Hammers specially made drones with the built poisoned bullets. Money was all fine up until Jacob suddenly wanted nothing to do with him. Working on more than one expensive project at a time seemed to cost him his sanity. 

He stopped infront of his apartment door, grabbing his keys from his suit pocket and going to unlock it. As soon as he slid in the key, the fluorescent lights in the hallway flickered as if from a horror movie. Pausing in his motions, Andrew checked behind him to see nothing but the doors to the other residents. Shaking his head, he thought to himself that it was simply the fact that he was just tired whilst completely unlocking his door but he felt like something was watching his back, so he quickly rushed inside and slamming the door shut behind him. Resting his back against the door, rubbing his face with his free hand. A few breaths later, he stepped away, switching on the maing lighting and checking everywhere before he crossed the way to his bedroom and placed his briefcase and keys down onto his desk.

He shrugged off his suit jacket and threw it on his desk chair. Going into his kitchen, he groggily grabbed a cold beer from the refrigerator and popping the lid off as he made his way into his living room. 

He stopped in his tracks as he went for the first comfortable fresh sip. The cold beer wasn't the only cold thing he could feel.

Slowly with very open eyes and on high alert, he walked back to his bedroom and switched on the light.

His window was wide open.

The most confusing thing was that his laptop, Mac computer and anything that looked expensive was still there. So no sign of a robbery.

He placed his beer down on the desk beside his briefcase, Andrew stuck his head outside the window to check for anything or anyone. When he saw nothing he came back inside and closed it, locking it with the hatch. Grabbing his beer, with a paranoid head, he cautiously walked back into his living room and sat down in his armchair, after a couple of gulps he placed the bottle to one side on the table beside the chair before leaning his elbows onto his lap and squashing his face in his hands. 

_Click._

Andrew acted quickly to turn to where the noise had come from. The lights flickered once more. He could feel his heart race as he gripped the arms of the chair, the stuttering and buzzing of the lights turning on and off became more erratic then turning off, leaving Andrew sitting in complete darkness.

*******

**S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, New York**

Maria Hill moved quickly and talked to other agents to try and get the power back up. Everything each agent was working on seemed to play up, not even their back up power energy was enough to control it.

Hunting down the halls with a flashlight to Director Fury' s office, she eventually found him sitting in his office at his desk leaning back in his chair, focusing on something in his mind, he was a bit too calm for this kind of situation.

"Sir? Everything is down. The back up programs aren't even attempting to start up. Sir?" He looked up at her then up at the clock on the wall. A few moments later everything came back on. 

*******

All he could hear was the sound of his own harsh breathing. All he could feel was his heart pounding in his chest.

"Who's there? Is anybody there?" All at once he felt the presence again as the lights came back on. He looked around. Going to look behind him when a cold but delicate hand clasped over his mouth, giving him an electric shock and held his head still against the headrest.

"Keep still and I promise I won't hurt you." The soft yet dangerously low voice spoke in his ear. In his position, struggled slightly, but the more he struggled the more the electric shock spiked his system. Andrew did as he was told and went back to gripping the arms. The person from behind him moved round to stand infront of him. Dressed head to toe in black, even the scarf that covered half of their face only leaving the eyes, eyebrows and the hilt of the nose. The forehead was shadowed by the hood they wore but he could feel the tension the eyes held directly at him. 

"Who are you?" He asked, gulping down the lump in his throat. The person clad in black continued to stare. "What are doing in my apartment?" The person in black suddenly leaned forward resting their hands either side of his head, causing the whole chair to jolt as they got in his face with angry eyes. "Jesus! What do you want?"

"A little jumpy aren't you?" He recognised the voice from somewhere. They pulled the hood down revealing black, curly hair that was tied back in a ponytail and flowed down their left shoulder. "You don't need to be nervous. You already know me." They then pulled down the scarf revealing the rest of their face. "Remember me?" His mind quickly ran through any kind familiarity.

"No, I dont know." Shaking his head in response, the woman in black stood up straight and walked away into his bedroom. "Hey! Don't go in there--" She turned around with a finger to her lips, shushing him. She continued on her small mission to find what she needed. Glancing around his bedroom, a demeaning poster of a babe from Baywatch or something stuck to his wall. A map of New York. She heard him pick up the hand set to his home phone. A small smile crept up on her lips as she listened to him trying to call the police. "You cut my phone line?!" Pleased with herself on that part, she checked his drawers for anything, she assumed everything he knew wouldn't be evidently in photographs or in any kind of physical form in his apartment.

Opening the laptop, she lifted one of her hands and graced it over the electronic devices causing them to be in her control but turning on and rapidly showing her which one held the information. The laptop was the first and only device to show her more than enough copies of newspaper articles, posters, internet screenshots of possible people that looked like her. But unfortunately for them, they weren't. Bringing her fingers to her palm infront of the computer, it turned off. She rests her hand on the laptop, breathing in slowly, as she does this, she stole every piece of information he had of her. In her mind she scanned through every file and swiped what was rightfully her identity. When she had finished, she folded the lid back down and went to walk back out but not without feeling something familiar coming from the briefcase that sat at the side of the desk table. 

Andrew bit at his nail then looked up to see the lady in black with the case of the poison in her hands.

Andrew quickly stood up with his hands out. 

"Wait! Stop!" The lady in black stopped in her tracks. She could almost giggle at his panic. "What you're holding is a lethal substance. If you so much as touch--"

"As soon as the poison touches my skin it enters my veins and within a matter of seconds my brain cells deteriorate and my body will shut down until I'm nothing but a vegetable." Placing the case in one hand and holding it against her hip.

"How do you--" 

"I'm not as stupid as you think." She stalked closer to him. Andrew stumbled back not being able to look away from her glare. "But you are a very stupid man." Lifting the case to look at the liquid. "Who is it for?"

"I'm not gonna tell you that--" She slapped him across his face. 

"Who Is it for?" She carefully placed the case down on the coffee table before turning back to Andrew.

"What makes you think that slapping me is gonna help--" She slapped him again even harder.

"Tell me who this poison is meant for." Anger and frustration taking over her body, she placed her hand on his forehead and projected into his mind what he didn't even know. Images of Jacob Mable bloodied and almost unrecognizable clouded his thoughts. From everything she knew about Andrew's and Jacob's interactions about her, to how she was going to leave him if he didn't give her the information she needed. When she let go, his eyes blinked with tears running down his cheeks as he breathed deeply 

"Oh my god! You killed Jacob?! You're that missing girl! But--" Picking him up by his collar, she came face to face with him again.

"How did you find out about me?!" He grabbed her wrists weakly. 

"He paid me to do it! Please!" Finding his breath as the images continued to run through his mind of him ending up like Jacob.

"How did you manage to find documents that disappeared weeks after I was taken?" He shook his head. Tears streaming down to his chin. 

"I don't know. I just looked online. I asked around. I gambled my money away just to get failed attempts to find what I could. Jacob knew that there was something about you that you weren't telling anyone." She let him go making him flop to the chair once more. Turning away from him. "I needed the money. Have you seen this shithole I live in? Plus he was loaded so I took advantage of it." He watched as she looked at him from over her shoulder. "I can't justify what I've done apart from the fact that I need the money. I needed to find the right ingredients for the poison." 

There was a moment of silence, which Andrew took to wipe his face.

"Who did you make the poison for?" She heard him sigh. 

"I can't tell you. It's confidential." She walked around to the back of his chair, hand in his hair, he could feel the small sparks of electrical currents coming from her hand, her hand came to a stop at his forehead again as he relaxed when he could feel the sparks touching his head.

"Take advantage of _this_  time to be the smart guy." He breathed a sigh. "I don't kiss and tell."

"Justin Hammer." From his mind, she could see his version of the man. She had seen him on the news before. The court case against Tony Starks Iron Man suit.

"What does he want with you?" She asked, her hand releasing tiny sparks to his head that she knew would travel to parts of his brain that would eradicate the memory. What she didn't know is if it takes away that memory or not. 

"He needed me to develop the poison so that it could be put into a bullet. The bullets are put into designer made guns that can hold them. He contacted me because of my previous work at Oscorp."

"How powerful are these bullets?" Through her mind, she was phasing through anger, curiosity and worry. 

"Hammer wanted it to pierce through specific armour material. Nitinol. He wanted to keep the project under wraps. The poison may be able to turn a human being to just a bag of limbs but when it hits the Nitinol, it has an acidic effect. Making the Nitinol impossible to co-operate with other resources."

"So it dilutes the metals strength, making it weak and useless. It might as well be paper." 

"That's why the drones have specially made guns that can hold the bullets. If the drones so much as touch the poison. It would all be a waste of time trying to be better than Tony Stark." Furrowing her eyebrows, she glances down at him. 

"Who are the bullets for?" The longer she held her hand to his head, the more cells he might lose but she needed the answer. "Come on, Andrew."

"They're gonna be used against him. Justin Hammer doesn't care about if the poison will kill him. He just wants to show everyone that he's better." She quickly took her hand away. This is beyond reason. She quickly moves over to the coffee table and grabs the case. "Where are you taking that?!" 

"Away from you." She goes to the front door but he's up on his feet and grabs her arm. "Get off of me!" 

"I can't let you take it. I need the money!"

"You would honestly kill a millionaire who does nothing more than help people as Iron Man? You're crazy. He's not dangerous but this is! Now let go!" In that moment, her opinion of Tony Stark completely changed. Sure he was cocky, he knew he was good at whatever he did but he didn't deserve to die at the hands of a couple of jealous assholes. She knew better than to hold a grudge on someone she hardly knew.

Andrew pulled her close to him, his grip tightening around her arm. The lights started to flicker again. 

"Stop doing that! It doesn't scare me. Now give me back that formula!" His glare changed to confusion as he watched her eyes cloud over with a white mist. "What the--" He was suddenly thrown back to the other side of the room, crashing down onto his television cabinet and landing on the coffee table, snapping it in half.

*******

Within a thirty mile radius, streetlights, the broad lights and screens that emphasised the centre of New York City, the fluorescent lighting in shops and supermarkets switched off, throughout this pitch, New York City had a black out.

*******

The lady in black disappeared from Andrew Beck' s apartment, into the dark hallway and into natures dark night. The last thing she heard was Andrew's screams.

*******

**Kat's P.O.V.**

I can't breathe. 

It's taking everything in me to not drop this case but it's getting harder to keep it up.

In a moment of weakness to my core pain I clutch my stomach and bend over in agony. I reached up to wipe the sweat off of my forehead. I know what's coming but I need to get to the hotel and quick...

I don't know how long it took me to get here, it's all a blur. Whatever is happening now, it's worse than I have ever had before. The pain inside of me spread from my core to my abdomen and throughout my chest making it harder to breathe. 

I'm not gonna make it. 

Just around the corner, stood a tall building, I can't remember where I am but I think it's the University. I went around to the back where maybe delivery services go, the key pad and back door was locked. Placing my hand on the keypad, I waited a few seconds for the green light to replace the red. After unlocking the door, I knew I had to quickly find the science lab.

After managing to find the floor in pitch black, I quickly stepped in and closed the door. My body was quickly becoming weak. There is so much electricity going around that my powers want to pick up. 

Every now and then I collapsed against the wall or the chairs and finally the cabinet that held the ingredients that I needed and shoved them in my pockets. I'm looting a freaking university!

....

How am I even doing this and staying awake?

With the solvent in the tube, with shakey pale hands, I slowly pour the liquid into the poison. Once every drop was in, I prayed that the solvents chemicals will dissolve the acidic and deadly particals of the poison to turn into a temporary fix. Lifting the tube of the mixed liquids, I softly swirl the two together.

I hugged myself tightly as the pain surged quickly throughout the rest of my body, my vision blurred while I put the tube back in its case and collapsed onto the floor.

*******

11:47 pm.

A gentleman in a navy blue suit walked down the hallway of the second floor, knocking on each room door, like a few others members of staff in the hotel, to inform their guests of the unfortunate circumstances of the sudden black out.

This gentleman, knocked on the room 235.

Almost instantly the young woman that vacated it answered with a smile.

"Good evening ma'am, we just wanted to apologise for tonight's inconvenience with our electricity. We hope that everything has been alright?"

"No, it's alright, really. I've been asleep this whole time. But thank you for letting me know. Hope everything is alright now." He gave her a smile.

"We are currently on the back up supply. Well if you need anything at all, please let us know, have a pleasant night, miss Harvey." 

"Thank you, Daniel. Good night."

When Katherine closed the door, pulling her hand away from the door handle, she saw digital glitches where her fingers and knuckles should have been. She lifted her hand to the glare of the tall living room lamp, she wriggled her fingers and more of her hand became a digital compound. She saw her black veins from where her transition, the thin dark line faded to a gray as it got deeper into the skin. In a blink, her hand crafted back to normal. From her hand to the floor and following it towards a lump on the floor, walking closer towards it, she came to notice that the lump was her human form passed out on the floor. 

"This is new." She looked up at her reflection in the living room mirror, softly touched her cheek before disappearing in sparks at the same time Katherine awoke from her sleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to kudos if you like this fix so far!
> 
> If anyone wants to know what Katherine looks like, I go by this or any other picture of a young Kehlani on Google because my gawd I love her:
> 
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6f/3f/68/6f3f684ecb41e2c3b3a6188ef6a26798.jpg
> 
> Request Marvel movies on Netflix. https is forever safe with personal details. Currently getting inspiration from online script and clips on youtube.
> 
> NemO3991 x


	8. Game, Set, Match

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Run..." That's all I've ever done....
> 
>  
> 
> 'I awake to see that no one is free  
> We're all fugitives  
> Look at the way we live  
> Down here, I cannot sleep from fear no  
> I said, which way do I turn  
> Oh I forget everything I learn...'
> 
> Coldplay - Spies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look out for the written Stan Lee cameo!

**Inglewood, California**

The sun rose with a relaxed warmth, full of graceful colours of oranges and yellows over the surface of this quite deserted area around this single cafe. It made quite a name for itself with a tall, fat doughnut sitting on the roof, with the words 'Randy's Donuts' capitalized within the doughnuts ring.

Within this metal doughnut however, a millionaire in his iron suit was perched lazily whilst munching on a box of those sponsored sweetness, all whilst watching over the sunrise. 

"Sir! I'm going to have to ask you to exit the doughnut!" A voice out of nowhere called from the groundling. Tony Stark looked down to see the resting bitch face of the all too familiar face of Nick Fury. Tony sighed before hesitantly complying.

*******

**Kat's P.O.V.**

Oh. My head. What am I talking about. Oh! My whole body! What the hell happened? It feels like someone knocked a hammer to my head to get me to sleep. Not that I would know what that actually feels like.

With great difficulty, I peeled my eyes open. The instantly fluttered to protect my eyes from the sunlight. 

Where was that coming from?

Rotating my head, I followed the trail of sunlight that made the patch on the floor warm, or was that me? Why was I asleep on the floor?  _Crazy bitch._ The curtains weren't even closed! Did I go out drinking or something? 

Pressing my palms to the ground beneath me, I struggled to push myself up. My whole body raged against me but I fought whatever the pain wanted and sat up. As soon as I did, complete and utter awareness kicked in. 

Where am I?

Still feeling so tired, I rest my head in my hands, I rub my face and then rub my temples. I could just about hear my phone vibrating from somewhere in this room. Looking around it's quite a lovely furnished room. A bit sharp for my liking but it's a room nonetheless. With the help of the back of the couch, I grabbed the top and pulled myself up to my feet, with a major stumble, I get back up and rest my frame against the back. 

I scan the room, trying to focus and remember where I was. Nothing came out.  _It is a nice room._

Finding my Bambi feet, I carefully walk towards the on suite bathroom to a big bedroom. I sigh deeply as I step over to the sink, switching on the cold tap, cupping some of the water and throw it into my face. I shriek into my hands from the sudden chill before continuing to wash my face and neck. Grabbing the hand towel from the side, I dab it around. Lifting my upper body so I could see myself in the mirror.  _I bet you look like bag o' crap!_ As I drag the towel to my neck, I let out a scream, dropping it.

What the hell happened to my hair?!

I scream again but clasp both hands over my mouth.  _Holy shit sticks! What did you do last night, girl?!_

When I'd gathered the strength, I walk back into the living room/bedroom.  _Hang on. Living room and bedroom? I'm in a hotel?_ "I'm in a hotel and I slept on the floor with no memory of the night before. Yep. Sounds about right for me."  _And your mother_ \--"Shut up." Well...its kinda true. Kinda meaning heck yes it positively true as a fact. But I'm not like her. I'll never be like her. I knew she wasn't the best influence on me but I was little and I needed her, even if I did see my babysitter more than her.

I remember when he would bring over videos of documentaries and science fiction movies, every now and sometimes he would give me a small package that I was only to look at on my own. I think it was a tablet or something. High definition mechanics for the nineties but on the tablet would be a video recording of my favourite scientist. I would listen and watch the videos every once in a while. He would talk about how to fix things like my glasses for starters, then he moved onto showing me how to fix my watch. He would just talk about stories from the past and what he hoped for the future. 

It all stopped when my mom found out that I was watching the videos and told me that she wanted me to have nothing to do with him or his family. To this day I still don't understand why.

I finish putting on my jacket and sneakers, putting on my heavy travel bags, making sure I had everything and that my cut hair was in the bin, and I made leave from room 235. 

*******

"...Meet at headquarters when you are done. Thank you." Nick Fury turns back to sit at the table which Tony Stark was still occupying. 

"You see, right there is one of the reasons why I don't wanna be in your super-secret boy band. Those kind of phonecall beg for suspicious looks."

"No, no, no. Nothing suspicious at all because from what I can remember, you do everything yourself. How's that working out for you?" Fury asked, while at the back of his mind he knew exactly what would get to Stark.

"It’s… It’s… It’s…Look, I’m sorry. I don’t wanna get off on the wrong foot. Do I look at the patch or the eye? Honestly I’m a bit hung over. I’m not sure if you’re real of if I’m having--"

"Oh, I'm very real. I'm one of the realist people you'll ever meet." 

"Just my luck." Fury reaches over to try and tug down the collar of Tony's Iron Man suit to get a look at the veins that seemed to be gaining more show and making him increasingly ill.

"That's not looking too good." With what Fury and his agents found literally on their doorstep this morning, he hoped that whatever it was, worked. The greenish blue liquid had been mysterious just as much as the non-existent fingerprints. Whatever it was, they had to try something.

"Yeah, yeah, I've been in worse states in my life--where' s the staff around here?" A familiar dark haired and curved figure walks towards them.

"We've managed to secure the perimeter but we shouldn't hold out for too long." Tony pulls his sunglasses down to the end of his nose as he gains frustration by looking at her.

"You're fired."

"That's not up to you." The woman he knew as Natalie sat down next to Fury who watched between the two.

"Stark, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff."

"Hi." Tony rubbed the sleep from his eye, not knowing the tear between him being physically tired and just wanting to go to bed or just being tired of people in general. As they talked, Tony grew more irritated by the fact that he had been watched by S.H.I.E.L.D.. 

"According to Mr Stark’s database security guidelines, there are redundancies to prevent unauthorised usage." Natalie spoke still keeping her eyes on Tony.

"Okay, look, what do you want from me?" Natalie gets up to walk away.

"What do we want from you? What do you want from me?You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with As well as multiple others on my case at this point. Contrary to your belief, you are not the centre of my universe. I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with. Hit him." Tony gets stabbed in the neck with the needle Agent Romanoff gave him before feeling his pulse.

"Oh, God, are gonna steal my kidney and sell it? Could you please not do anything awful for five seconds? What did she just do to me?" Tony asks as Romanoff cleans the needle and reports the effect of the liquid. From his seat, Fury could see the visible effect of liquid they had delivered to them. 

"What did we just do for you? Or what has someone done for you? Clearly there's someone out there that doesn't want to watch you die. And in case you're wondering, we got the results of it only a moment's ago. It's Lithium Dioxide. I came in doses in test tubes this morning with a note attached saying to only have it in small doses as it was quite a lethal substance to begin with. It should take the edge off." Tony took the last gulps of his coffee.

"Alright, well, give me a few boxes of it and I'll be right as rain."

"It's not a cure. It only abated the symptoms." Romanoff says sitting back down. "The person who did this probably knew about your illness as much as we did. Who can tell what else they might know."

"What are you talking about?" Tony creases up his face as continues to feel it working.

"A gentleman was arrested early this morning. You might know him." Fury says as Romanoff brings up a tablet and brings up a photograph of the man. 

"Andrew Beck. I knew of him. Not a fan of the guy. Why was he arrested?"

"According to his neighbours, he was causing quite a disturbance. Crashing and things breaking and his screaming could be heard from his apartment but once the police got in, they found him trashing his own apartment apparently looking for a case." Tony shook his head.

"And what has this got to do with me?"

"Nothing. Apart from the fact that he was associated with a rival of yours Justin Hammer."

"Right. Right. Wow." Tony massaged his head with his fingers. "So are you saying that case that you got the stabbing needle from was from him?"

"Originally yes."

"So, he made the fix. So what?" Fury leaned forward resting his arms on the table.

"According to the tests we ran on the substance in the needle, it was a type of poison beforehand. This man worked alongside your rival. You need to understand that he created it to cause you harm. But somewhere inbetween the sender and delivery service, someone found a pairable chemical solvent to kill the bad cells, that would have been able to pierce your suit and in turn made it what you now have running through your veins." Fury spoke and gestured to Tony's neck. "Whoever this was. They knew what Andrew Beck was up to."

"Who is this person that did this if it wasn't Becky?" Tony asked trying to take this all in.

"We have no idea for sure who they are but we're on our way to finding out because as far as we know, Andrew Beck isn't the only person they've left behind."

"Okay, you can't keep teasing and then expect me to beg you for me to join your boy band just to know who this person is."

"We wouldn't dare do that to you Stark."

*******

 

_How did I get to New York City? I can't remember anything. Well, I remember being on the plane but ... that's about it. Why am I here?_

I tried my hardest to think of anything to do with why I might be here as I walked down the down the busy, crowded streets, hopefully navigate myself to a coffee shop where I can get some breakfast. 

From across the street I found a cafe a few blocks away from an underground train station. With a few beeping horns from busy drivers, I crossed to the other side and into the cafe with a ring of the bell. I had ordered a tall caramel frappucino. Girl needs her big coffee and had a blueberry muffin (or two). I sat at the back, not near the windows but in a cosy spot in the corner. 

Placing my coffee and muffins on the table, I swear I could feel someone's eyes on me. Glancing up, nobody seemed to be looking my way. I shook off the feeling and went into my bag to try and take my mind off of it by reading an old book I carried around with me everywhere. I bought it years ago when I first started travelling. I always forget things, even the smallest ones sometimes but I can't forget the moment I bought this. I was incredibly nerdy but giddy about a new book, 'The Original Study of the Earth's  Magnetosphere' by Professor Erik Selvig. I absolutely adore this book! I treasure it with my heart and my whole life. 

With my other hand I take a piece of the muffin as I reach inside my bag for the book. My hand stopped where it nasal and I completely stopped in my chewing when I felt something unfamiliar at the side of my things. Shoving the piece of muffin into my mouth, I direct my full attention to what it could be. Jars? What are jars doing in my bag? Taking the smallest one out and putting it at the side of my bag, all the while being careful not to let anyone see what I was doing, even the camera above me, lifting my hand I taught it to look in a different direction other than me. 

Lifting the small jar of a grayish white compound, I was careful not to open the lid, even accidently.  _You have drugs in your bag! What the hell man!_ Turning the jar around, the label at the bottom read, 'Property of New York City University'.  _Well, at least it's not drugs._

*******

**S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, New York**

Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Phil Coulson and a few younger level field agents sat around a table in the meeting room. Tony Stark was taken care of, for now, although when Romanoff and Fury had left him he seemed a bit distracted. Fury hoped that Stark would keep his focus on more important matters. Coulson and other agents had to pull out from the investigation of the murder of Jacob Mable as they gave the police and detectives what they needed to know, especially about the condition of Lou Barry. They had to step away as they weren't getting any further with anything. As for the mystery deliverer, who knows who it is but they'll be damned to get passed the mind of Nick Fury.

"How are things left with mister Barry?" Fury asked as he stood by the tall windows looking over the landscape of New York with his hands rested behind his back.

"Fine. Stable." Coulson replied passing the stud over to Maria Hill, the forensics team let them keep a hold of in case they found any further information. "They're not sure if the growth is from the incident at the work station or if it just wasn't found in a check up until it grew big enough."

Maria plugged the stud into the special pod that connected to the computer. Scanning it, she pressed a few buttons to connect to it fully which caused it project a holographic image of the map of whole of America.

"Sir, there's no pin point movement coming from the map." She said refreshing the page again. 

"Narrow it down to the last recorded stream of movement." When it was done, it brought up the exact image that Coulson and another field agent had seen in the parking lot but instead of it moving, the whole tracking spot had disappeared completely, leaving only the trail from their last movements. "Where are they?"

"I don't know sir." Fury turned his full attention to the holographic board and stared angrily at the same trail that when refreshed, still didn't bring anything new. Fury instantly became impatient. "Sir this is the last recorded movement. New York City airport. They might still be in the city. This was noted at 17:15 hours yesterday evening."

With quick thinking, Nick Fury instantly thought out loud, "Almost two hours before mister Becks neighbours heard something unusual. It can't be."

"Sir?" He heard Hill ask. Nick Fury knew what he needed to do. 

"You're all dismissed. Coulson, fill in the report and move on to your next assignment. Agent Hill, please get a hold Roger and tell him I've found his last post to resign to."

"Yes sir." With that, the five agents exited the room. Fury stood by the window once more as he was put through to a phonecall.

"I need men on the field...New York City, possibly around the proximity of any type of travel out of the city. But discretion is key. Once we have a scent, I don't want you to move in straight away, I want to know who this person is. Follow them. Don't lose sight of them and most importantly... dont close in until I say so. We don't want to scare them off. Understand?... Good."

*******

 

Tony drove quickly along the coast. Revived, breathing easy knowing that the supplement Fury used on him was working. After they had run more tests on it, they had sent him a small crates worth of mini doses of the lithium dioxide. The prescription sounded like a doctor's note which had made him throw it over his shoulder within a few words, boredom quickly sinking in. 

What stained Tony's mind as he drove to Peppers office was how someone out there knew about Andrew Beck's demise and changed the effects. 

Whoever this person was, he hoped he could find them before S.H.I.E.L.D. and just ask them why they did it and how they knew how to change the formula.

He thought to himself that maybe he was over thinking. Or... maybe he was grateful and wanted them to know it, even if they didn't want to be found. Somehow Tony drifted from that thought to remembering what happened moments ago.

 _"He said that you were the only person with the means and knowledge to finish what he started."_ Nick's words sticking into his mind. Then he asked the words that Tony always dreads to hear.  _"What do you remember about your dad?"_

_Tony simply stared at Fury._

_"I remember how he was cold, he was calculating. He never told me he loved me. He never even told me he liked me, so it’s a little tough for me to digest when you’re telling me he said the whole future was riding on me and he’s passing it down. I don’t get that. You’re talking about a guy who’s happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school."_

_Fury shook his head, "That's not true."_

_Tony scoffed, "Then, clearly, you knew my dad better than I did."_

Coming to a bend, Tony chuckled to himself, the words repeating themselves over and over.

 _"As a matter of fact, I did. He was one of the founding members of SHIELD...."_  

Tony parked beside a man and his car with boxes of fat strawberries sitting on top of the bonnet. After complying and not touching the gentleman, Tony continued his journey. 

As soon as he had stepped into Peppers office, he hardly got a word in, and so telling the t.v. to mute as he could see it was clearly not doing anything for Pepper. He wondered over to the junk standing in the corner of the room and covered in a huge sheet as if it had been shamed. Tugging and removing the whole sheet, revealing a platform with detailed roads, streets, buildings and whatnot. Not interesting him he went back over to a box, nudging a framed photograph out of the way and a couple of other things when something caught his eye.

Tony looked up at Pepper who was glaring straight at him while still talking on the phone. Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to ask her about it right now, he picked up the piece of paper or cardboard paper, he read over the writing at the back.

**_August 21st 1991._ **

Tony turned the piece of paper around to check if there was anything else and stopped and stared at what was a photograph.

"What?" He asked out loud but to himself. 

The photograph was of an elderly man with a young lady, they were both smiling at the camera, the man's arm around the lady's waist. The old man he recognized as his father, Howard. And the girl? He wasn't sure if he knew her or not. But he couldn't take his eyes away from the fact that the woman's hands were rested softly but surely on her prominent baby belly.

*******

**Hilton Hotel**

Agent Coulson made a quick round close to New York JFK Airport, this was the last known location of, who Fury is now calling, 'The Mole'. For some unknown to Coulson and Hill and everyone else that was in the meeting didn't understand why this person was getting under Fury's skin so much. But if it was to end this, then Coulson was gonna do all he could to bring this 'Mole' from under the ground.

*******

'By studying this space environment close to home, we can better understand the nature of space throughout the universe....' This. Man. Is. I can't even begin to come up with the words to tell anyone how much I love this man's writing. His mind is so open and intelligent. Ugh. I swear if I ever met this man ever in my lifetime, I will swoon!

I am such a sapiosexual! Anyone who shows a little bit of knowledge that makes my brain rethink and acknowledge another point of view. I. Melt.

I'm also a huge fan of Stephen Fry. I used to watch QI the British television programme! I live off of that show.

I bookmarked my page and held it to my chest.  _Thank you for keeping me sane._ Putting the book down into my bag, something was still lingering in the back of my mind that someone was watching me. I've got to shake off this paranoia. Going through my bag, I searched for my only friend in the world, Anji. I had thrown the jar's away in the university's dumpster. Happy bin day everyone! 

Anyway, I searched through my bag for my little grey box that held my little ... friend? Or one half? Where's the other stud?

Gawd, no! I must have left it at the damn hotel!

That creeping feeling came by again, so I grabbed my stuff and went inside the museum. I stood a group of students that followed behind a tour guide until they got closer to the stairs and jogged up them to the first floor. But I could still feel eyes on me. Gawd! What's happening to me? I don't think I've ever been this paranoid before on my life! I moved until I got to World War II room. It looked to be dedicated to the unknown heroes of that time. As well as the very few and very much known heroes or hero of that time. I walked around reading the profiles of these people.

_**Margaret Elizabeth Carter** _

_' **Margaret Elizabeth "Peggy" Carter**  was a British officer representing the Strategic Scientific Reserve and Steve Rogers's World War II ally. After the war, Agent Carter secretly assisted Howard Stark, who found himself framed for supplying deadly weapons on the black market. She was assisted by Stark's butler Edwin Jarvis. They found those responsible and disposed of the weapons which led to the mysterious organization Leviathan. Peggy, along with Howard, founded S.H.I.E.L.D. with Colonel Chester Phillips.'_

Quite a badass chick. I moved around and saw the face of Steve Rogers. He was a handsome man. He was handsome even before he got doped up on that 'Super Soldier Serom'. I moved on around to the next one who was posted with the other heroes.

"James 'Bucky' Barnes. Hmm." Gazing up at his frosted eyes on the screen before me, I couldn't help but...I don't know. Those eyes are so .... I think I've seen those eyes before. Getting closer to the photograph, the shape of his eyebrows, the resting bitch lips. My eyes catch a man dressed all in black walking into the room. I swiftly move to the other side of the room, shoving my bag into a janitors trolley behind the garbage bags like they were a pair of curtains before I ran to hide behind one of the pillars. From where I was, I watched as the man walked up to where I was just standing, looked around but not without the janitor talking him up. I could see the man wanting to get away, he eventually stepped away and walked back out. 

I leaned my back against the pillar and breathed a deep sigh of relief--

"Excuse me?" I jumped out of my skin. To my right I saw the elderly janitor. His glasses almost filling his face. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you, ma'am."

"It's alright." Keeping my hand on my chest I finally got my breathing back to normal.

"Are these your bags?" My head quickly looked down at my travel bag and carry on at the bottom of his trolley.

"Yes. I am so sorry." I collected them and went to quickly turn.

"It's quite alright. Enjoy the rest of your day." He said with a smile, turning his trolley around. I smiled back.

"Thank you, sir. You too." He caught my attention with a whisper, I turned around to him. He mimed and pointed his finger to the far right of himself, where I saw an exit sign. I nodded and pulled up my hood and went out the door.

*******

The elderly janitor watched the young strange girl leave through the exit door then poked his finger on the little clear device in his ear.

"Report to Hill. The tracker has been planted, over."

_"Good work, Roger. Thank you for your service."_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the kudos and for helping this story reaching near 300 views already!! I want to say big shout out thank you to I_love_fanfictionsss for the comment on the previous chapter. 
> 
> Thanks for the love!
> 
> NemO3991 x


	9. Player 3 Has Entered the Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hide..." all I've ever known.....
> 
> "I was born of the womb of a poisonous spell  
> Beaten and broken and chased from the land  
> But I rise up above it, high up above it and see.
> 
> I was hung from a tree made of tongues of the weak  
> The branches, the bones of the liars, the thieves  
> Rise up above it, high up above it and see..."
> 
> Thirty Seconds To Mars - Night of the Hunter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know who Katherine is based on, copy and paste the links below. Don't judge. They are from Google.
> 
> Chapters 1 to 7:  
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7c/9d/6b/7c9d6bf12ed4d6800893645235ef0dad.jpg
> 
> Chapter 8:  
> http://picture-cdn.wheretoget.it/krj1nl-l-610x610-dress-kehlani-shirt-kehlanimusic.jpg

**Downtown NYC, Lower Manhattan**

"We're going to ask you one more time mister Beck. Would you have any idea of who broke into your apartment?" One of the two smartly dressed men sat at a table inside of a dull coloured room and pale white lighting. One of these men an officer with the New York Police Department, and the other a detective who travelled all the way from Canada to try and get a lead on his somewhat failing investigation. He clicked the pen he was holding whilst staring blankly at the slumped and pale man sitting opposite them. Nervous sweat dribbled from his forehead down to his cheeks as he stated into nothing or maybe a speck on the table.

"Mister Beck, please can you answer the question." Asks Detective Inspector Kingston as he readied himself for anything this man had to say. Apparently he had caused quite a ruckus at an apartment complex that was in ranking competition with the Avalon apartment building that sat just down the road. When the black out occurred the Avalon and groups of houses got the worst of it. Anything that was within a ten mile radius got the dust of it. The newspapers and citizens from across New York all the way to California, they called it the Woman in Black, apparently the name came from a horror play, but some who he had questioned had said that it was because of how sudden it was people could only see the silhouettes of one another which they had to go by to get around when they couldn't use their cars or any form of transport. Luckily there were no planes going over at that time or it would have been horrific.

The detective was growing impatient. He reached up to scratch at the growing stubble on his chin. His wife had been concerned about his lack of sleep as he tried to conclude this case that seemed to be going nowhere. Until now that is. But his impatient was wearing thin, he wanted any answer at all. Even if he knew it was insignificant or a poor rating of a comment but he just needed anything. Any answer at all. He needed it before this S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Coulson could do his job for him.

"I don't know." We're the only words that came out of the pale man's mouth. Kingston sighed. The tired and sickly form of Andrew Beck was quickly becoming apparent to the officers at the station. Beck had been perfectly capable of sitting up by himself earlier that morning. It was around three in the afternoon now and Andrew had changed his posterior drastically. When he first came in, he was full of life and finance as he tried to convince everyone that he wasn't crazy as he had thrown himself about to get free of the cuffs. Now, he seemed like a shell of a man. Dark circles under his eyes, hair a mess, already growing stubble that could match with Kingston's little hairs. His once lightly tanned skin now pale as Casper.   
Andrew shook his head at himself, he couldn't understand what was happening to him. He couldn't think. Well, he could but he couldn't think of anything to do with what they were talking about. They had asked him the same question maybe an hour or so after they brought him in. 

"Do you remember anything at all about what happened in your home, mister Beck? When you came in to our custody yesterday, you screamed that someone was there and that they were turning your lights on and off." He looked up at the detective sitting directly in front of him. He remembered that part but everything else was either a blur or it wasn't there. "If someone had broken into your home, mister Beck, would you be able to give us any details to what this person looked like? Male? Female? We're there any visible tattoos?"

There it was again, that numbing feeling whenever he would try to think of anything.  
Andrew reached up to scratch the area on his scalp where the numb throbbing was coming from.

"I don't know." He spoke low and hoarse from being able to sleep. He had stayed awake thinking of the person that was in his face but over night the image had blurred and become someone unrecognizable that he could never point out in a crowd of people. Something in his brain sparked up at that word. Unrecognizable.

"Our records show that you used to work as an manufacturing assistant at Hammer Industries. You helped him design and create specialised drones. Is that correct?" Andrew held back his anger even more so. He remembers getting laid off of the project.

"There were other workers there so they were your work colleagues, right?" Andrew nodded slightly. "Okay. So...could anyone of them have done it, do you think?"   
Unrecognizable.

"There was a murder." A breath of silence. "I think...I think there was a lost girl?" It snapped in his head. His eyes widened. "Oh my god! It was the missing girl! Yeah! About ... I don't know errrr...oh god!" Andrew tapped his knuckles at his head. He was desperate to remember it before it disappeared. "I think it said something like in 2005. I can't remember anything more than because they took everything to do with them." 

Kingston stared blankly at Beck before trailing his gaze over to the 'mirror' on the other side of the room. He sighed deeply before turning around to the officer next to him and quietly telling him to check for records of any missing girls over the past five years. This may be a lead to something but in Kingston's mind he was starting to wonder what Andrew really knew. There were still some cases left unsolved that could possibly link to what happened the night before. He kept it at the back of his mind not wanting to press into it if it might be wrong.

"They showed me a picture of a body. The face of someone that was beaten until he was unrecognizable." Andrew said scratching his head more vigorously this time with a small flinch and a groan as the officer closed the door behind him leaving the two on their own.

"What do you know abou--"

"Jacob Mable! It was him!" 

"How did know Jacob Mable?" Kingston furrowed his eyebrows, resting on his arms on the table leaning forward onto them.

"I think I worked with him." Kingston clicked his pen and jotted down notes of his new findings. It wasn't a lot but it was something.

"With your job as an assistant at Hammer Industries, how did you come to work with Jacob Mable who was Assistant Manager at Mable Logging Company in Calgary, Canada?" 

"Well, we didn't actually physically work together, he emailed me one day saying that he thought he found something." The policeman came back with a handful of yellow coded files and a laptop. 

"It was--" Andrew stopped himself. There it was. It was gone. "No. No. No."

"Mister Beck. What was it that you were working on with mister Mable?" Kingston asked as the police officer typed away on the little black laptop to find any descriptions that might match to what Andrew had just told them.

"A project. But now I can't remember it."

"That doesn't help a lot." Andrew glared at the detective. 

"He was giving me money to pay for something on the project. But it wasn't anything like what I was doing at Hammer Industries. It was probably less tiring than anything. I managed to get a break."

"Do you think the reason for your break in was something to do with this new project?" Andrew didn't do or say anything for a moment before he shook his head, looking down at his hands. He cringed again at the numb throbbing in his head. He raised his hand to where the pain was gradually getting worse.

"I'm...n-not sure. I don't think so."

"You spoke of a project at with Justin Hammer that wasn't anything like what you were working with mister Mable. Can you give us any information--" Kingston was cut off by Andrew groaning in agony, covering his ears and pressing his hands into the sides of his skull. He takes a deep breath in.

"Poison. It's a poison that can penetrate Iron Man's armour. Hammer didn't care if it pierced into Starks heart as long as he's out of the picture." Andrew immediately covered his mouth. Shocked at the words that came out with no filter or any thought. He just said it. Shooting a worried look at the men in charge of his fate.

"You were in charge of making a substance that could possibly hurt Anthony Stark?" Tears were welling up in Andrew's eyes, his hands clutched together as they slide down his face. Kingston was now determined to get answers, even if now it takes them off subject. Kingston kept his eyes glued on Beck. "Was the purpose of this poison ... to kill Tony Stark?" Unknown to the officers, he could feel something go off in his head, like a relentless electric shock. 

"No! They took it from me!" He growled loudly at them but they didn't flinch. 

"Who took what?" The officer asked Andrew answered with another yell in pain, running his fingers through his hair. Kingston sighed and motioned for officer to switch off the recorder before walking out of the room and through to the back where the 'mirror' was being held. The officer said the time and date of the interview before pressing the stop button, Andrew's head collapsed and hit the table top with a hard bang. The officer got up from his seat, collecting the papers and walking around to the still unmoving body of Beck. He reached down to prod him awake and got a short sharp shock to his fingertips. Clapping his hand to his chest. It took him a moment to come to his senses. He reached down to his belt, grabbing the baton, sliding it from it's loop but it got stuck. He looked down to it when he strong grip enveloped his neck as he was pushed up against the wall closest to the door. He struggled against the hand when he caught the dark eyes of Andrew. He lifted the officer higher up the wall at arms length.

"Where are they?!" Andrew growled like before. The officer struggled even more as he went to grab for his gun but because of the amount of pressure Andrew was putting on his shoulders, he couldn't move anywhere.

"I don't know who you're talking about!" 

"The one that took the formula. Where is it?!" Seconds after asking he flinched back clutching the whole of his head, the officer dropping to the floor and stumbled away into the corner. He watched as Andrew's screams grew desperate. "Someone help me! Please!" He gurgled up the foaming bubbles from his throat. He suddenly clutched his chest as more electric shocks took over. 

As more officers barged into the room, pointing their guns at him, his eyes fell slowly onto them. He smiled weakly and fell to the floor like a marionette and someone had let go of the strings.

*******

Tony was sat in a basement somewhere, the aftermath of his battle with Vanko over and done with. Justin Hammer and his company were under investigation ever since his ex-worker Andrew Beck had been arrested. They were attempting to find a lead on something but that wasn't interesting Tony. What was keeping his mind occupied was the fact that there was someone out there that knew exactly how to dissolve a matter in a poison and turned it into nothing. A cure. 

Well, Fury said it wasn't but it's working. Whoever this person was, they must have known what was going on and how to stop it. But what was bothering him most about it all, and S.H.I.E.L.D. too, was that this person had left no fingerprint. It was clean. No trace back to who or where it came from. It was just there with what might as well have been a doctor's prescription note.

Furrowing his eyebrows at the thought of never knowing who this smart cookie was, it made him exhausted even trying to go through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security cameras to find out of they had delivered it personally. Unfortunately not. If Fury wasn't that lucky, then Tony was going to try and be at least a little bit lucky.

Lucky.

He sat down at a table, wiping a sleep from the corner of his eye, he looked down at the folder that read 'Avengers Initiative'. Pushing it away, he wiped his head and sighed deeply. Digging into his jeans back pocket, he took out something else that had been bugging him since he found it. 

The photograph. 

His father. The familiar girl. She was hot. Beautiful. The bump. 

Himself, he was curious to know but on other terms ... he wasn't. He may not have been even fond of his father before but this... this was something huge. 

Did his dad have an affair? Was it just a friend who just so happened to be pregnant? Tony didn't want to know.

Or did he?

He carefully put the polaroid photograph back into his pocket and grabbed the folder back when a hand stopped him from going any further. 

"I don't think I want you looking at that. I'm not sure it pertains to you anymore. Now this on the other hand, is Agent Romanoff's report of you." The oh-so familiar Fury spoke before sliding it back to Tony who gladly opened and scanned over the pages of writing on his character.

"Personality overview. Mr Stark displays compulsive behaviour.” In my own defence, that was last week. “Prone to self-destructive tendencies.” I was dying. I mean, please. Aren’t we all? “Textbook narcissism”? Agreed. Okay, here it is. “Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative. Iron Man? Yes.” I gotta think about it."

"Read on."

“Tony Stark not… Not recommended”? That doesn’t make any sense. How can you approve me but not approve me? I got a new ticker. I’m trying to do right by Pepper. I’m in a stable-ish relationship."

"May I remind you of your current obsession." Tony knew exactly what he talking about.

"It's not an obsession if they saved my ass." Fury raised an eyebrow. "All I want to do is find out who they are and thank them... even if they are hiding from you."

"They're under radar. We know what we're doing in this current circumstance with this vigilante."

"If they're bothering you so much, wouldn't it be helpful to have more hands on deck."

"Is that an acceptance to the Avengers Initiative? I thought you didn't like the little so called boyband?"

"It is not an acceptance. Just a temporary figure of minor authority to find this ... perso--Vigilante? Really? How can that be if they recovered a poison into a temporary antidote? How can you call someone a vigilante of all things if you don't even know who they are?"

"The question is Stark, how can you have such a growing obsession with someone you don't even know." Tony stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest.

"Maybe they don't like you." 

"That's their opinion. But so far they may have caused the black out in New York, they may be linked to murder case in Canada, a man is in hospital for a removal of a tumour that wasn't there the day before the murder." Tony's nostrils flared. "I'm going to hand you some advice before you even begin to think about this." Fury lifted the folder pointedly. "Stay out of it. You got lucky. Three men weren't so lucky." Fury stood leaving the folder on that table infront of Tony, he glared at it standing himself. "Oh and one more thing." Tony grumpily turned to Fury. 

"What? You gonna ground me for looking up naughty things on the internet?" 

"I just wanted to leave a thought with you."

"Hit me."

"I know you and your father didn't have the best of relationships... but do you really think he was capable of cheating on the woman he loved?"

"He was a human being. He just might have." Fury shook his head.

"Goodbye mister Stark." With that Fury left in shadows. Tony rested his hands on the chairs back. He seemed to be torn. His dad was a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D., some random person knew how to defect one of many poisonous substances and manages to turn it into something you can breathe easy with. Thinking about it, he got the photo from his pocket once again and really looked.

He honestly couldn't even remember her. 

In the photograph, her frame was thin and healthy, glowing, she looked stunning in the black dress the tail flowing to the floor, even with having the baby bump. Long, thin dark brown dreadlocks that measured down her back, some of it tied up at the back. A stunning bright, contagious smile. 

The last thing Tony looked at was her eyes. Dark brown eyes that could pull you in with just a quick glance. Tony ran through his mind to fit any pieces together. 

"Who are you?" 

*******

**Washington DC**

**Kat's P.O.V.**

I really need to sit down. I've been travelling in the wrong directions ever since I came out of New York. I've been walking, climbing and descending stairs, multiple times and now my legs are screaming at me to take a break. Those muffins this morning are probably enough to get me by until I next get hungry. 

_Probably not a great idea to starve yourself if your gonna travel this far._

"But I'm not hungry." I said to myself as I walked past a pretzel guy. My stomach grumbled. I'm not usually not hungry. I managed to chase after the pretzel man, buying myself a huge sweet pretzel and more than enough bottles of water. I think I need to make some space in my travel bag or maybe get another one.

The heat of the afternoon or perhaps it was allbthe travelling thatbwas making me sweat. I don't really own a change of clothes. I think I've dirtied out the last of the clothes that I own. 

Leaning down, I sniff an armpit but it's not terrible. I had a shower the other day, I think. I might need to get deodorant or something. 

My legs and I let out a relaxed slump onto the bench just outside a park. I'm not entirely sure where I'm actually going to. I guess I'm winging it for now. 

After a little while of nibbling at my pretzel, I wrapped it up and put in my carry on shoulder bag. These things are getting heavy. As much as my feet disagreed with it, I walked on until I got I reached the first pawn shop. Crownside Pawnbrokers. The bell above my head rang out through the little room as I opened the door. 

"Afternoon, ma'am." A chubby, unshaven man wearing baggy jeans and Motorhead t-shirt, he stepped out from the back room. He smiled at me as I dropped my travel bag onto the counter.

"I wanna sell a few things. Just wondering if you'll take 'em." I told him opening it and taking out my laptop, one and two. The silver tablet that I honestly haven't used in ages. A few tools that I didn't need as far as I was aware. I stole them anyway. I think it was back in Canada? No, one of them, a multiswitch screwdriver was from my Grandpa. I can't sell that. I know I seems stupid to keep a hold of it but... I'm still sentimental.

So I'm selling:

Two laptops

A small toolbox of high quality practically brand new equipment

A tablet.

 _Anything else? How about your soul? Have you noticed his one brown eye and one grey?_ Looking up at the man, sure enough he had a brown left eye and a grey right eye. Weird. He watched me as I hunted for anything else worth selling. I checked my shoulder bag for anything at the bottom when I found my little blood pressure box. I haven't used in a while either. The last needle I used for it I threw away, plus it had spares in the compartment at the back. I was torn between the thought of a 'what if?' and a glint of hope that it wouldn't happen again. I reluctantly placed the box on the counter on top of one of the laptop's. The man just stared at it before raising an eyebrow at me.

"What's this?" He asked picking it up.

"It's supposed to help with high blood pressure. It a bit complicated bit it's better than any pill or whatever people take nowadays for high blood pressure." He turned it over to look at it.

"It's got no label or print on it."

"It's an original make. I made it." After a moment of looking at every book and cranny of my little device, he put it down shaking his head.

"This won't sell for much. People might think it's just junk. If they can't find a label ... its not worth a lot." I nodded picking it up and putting it back. "I can give ya money for the rest of the stuff. Just as long as they've been swiped clean of anything and everything." He spoke walking over to the back room, leaning into it probably to grab something. I placed my hand on each of the electrical items, they came to life but the tablet was only one to visibly light up. Quickly glancing at the man, he was now in the back going through drawers in search for something. I could feel hundreds of tiny sparks flowing into my Palm and into my veins but as I was near the end of my collection, I could see my fingertips turning black up to the palm of my hand it stopped but the colour faintly continued on changing the colour of veins from blue to a faded grey or silver. 

"Sorry about that, darling. This is a new register book and I can't keep up with the new formality of it all. I prefer the old ones..." In my head, his voice was muffled. I quickly stuffed my hand into my pocket and focused back on reality. "Right." He spoke putting on his glasses, they were small and sat at the end of his nose. He spoke to himself as he went through the prices of everything. "Oh, is everything cleared off of them?" 

"Yeah. I did it this morning." My tablet was still lit up when he picked it up. 

"Alright. Like it's brand spanking new."  _Yeah. I can do it without pressing the reset button._ Its like my senses played at the back of my mind, someone was here. They're following me. Checking over my shoulder to the window. A man and a woman. They were dressed in casual clothes but something was off putting about them as they stood on the other side of the street. As I looked them over, almost like I was scanning them and my mind unfolded information about who they were.

The lady. Lindsey 'Gin' George. Born March 18th 1984. 5'6", long black hair. Blue eyes from her dad's side, the cheekbones and lips from her mother's side. She lives in New York. Works for a company called Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.

The man. Jameson Hadley. Born, September 9th 1987. 5'9", short dark brown hair. Hazel eyes from his father's side, more of his grandfather. Nose and characteristic looks from his mother. Lives in Long Island. Has a wife and two daughters that live in a safe house in Ohio. Also works for Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.

"So," I jumped as the man, Ron or 'Rocky', spoke. What's going on? How am I doing this? "Lets talk money." I nodded, going through my head on what's just happened. 

That's new.

"I can give you $70 for each laptop. They're practically new. I might change that to $85 per one actually." He's purposefully being generous. "$70 for the tablet. The tools are in good condition. $45 for the toolbox." I check outside for the two people. They're walking away but I still feel anxious about being anywhere near them. The sound of the till opening made me jump. I quickly put anything of use in my shoulder bag, putting my dirty clothes in there too. I'm gonna have to find a laundromat. "I just need you to sign this for me." Grabbing the pen I went to sign, under what name? What was the last one that I used? 

**_"Who's Iris?"_ **

**_"That's me. Iris Harvey."_ **

Remembering a woman with a contagious smile, I sign the piece of paper and Ron handed me the money. 

"Nice doing business with you miss Harvey." He said with a smile. 

"You too sir." Shaking his hand before throwing my travel bag onto my shoulder and heading for the door. I was full of tension as I walked down the street when I came to an alleyway. The large bin stood against the wall of an Italian restaurant. I took off my travel bag and knelt down to the ground emptying it and any useless items from it. 

Going through my items, I paused in my motions when, in my hands, were pieces of clothing that I wanted to forget. The black jeans. The black sweater. The black scarf. The black gloves. The ones that don't bring my allergies to a hype. They went into the bin along with my travel bag and anything that I thought would remind me of then, and him. The only things left were my dirty flannel shirt, green denim shorts, my spare pair of converse and a white tank top and a black one, and underwear. Plus what I was wearing, cheap black Puma joggers, sports under garments, plain baggy white t-shirt and red flannel that was tied at my waist and olive green bomber jacket thrown over my bag. 

Making sure I had everything, I also had to make sure I had my one ear stud. I inwardly face palm.  _I can't believe you left half of Anji back at the hotel._  

Now I hate myself.

*******

**Malibu, California**

Tony Stark paced his work shop/garage, contemplating whether he was going crazy. Was he obsessed? Did he just want to know them? He guessed with a new theory that this person with the antidote just didn't want credit. 

But why? They saved someone's life, in a way. 

"Jarvis? Can you run another scan for ... I don't know. Anything."

"Sir, are you sure you wouldn't want to rest? You haven't slept for more than twenty hours."

"No I'm fine. Just please scan."

"Sir, I have run this scan twelve times since you received the multiple cartilages of the formula. S.H.I.E.L.D. had also run the same tests without so much as a fingerprint." Tony slumped into his office chair, swinging around to face his screens. A thought came to mind from when he last saw Nick.

_"It's not a cure. It's a temporary fix."_

"Sent to out doorstep. Literally." He asked his AI to bring up security camera footage at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s compound on the night of his party, shortly after the blackout in New York. Tony's eyes switched from each screening of more than a handful of the camera shots. Agents standing guard infront of the building. As two different agents turned the corner and one stood beside the door, Tony watched on for about ten minutes as nothing happened. 

Squeezing his eyes closed, he leaned back, rubbing his face with his hands. 

"Is everything alright, Sir?" Tony sighed at the sound of his AI, moving to cross his arms.

"Am I going crazy?" He heard a noise a few seconds later.

"Your brain function is perfectly normal." Tony looked to the screens once more. Shaking his head, he stood up and walked over to the door. 

"I'm going to bed. I don't want to prove Fury right."

"Very well, sir." 

Just as Jarvis was about to switch off the computers, on the security camera, a glitch in the shape of a human, a girl with long dark hair placed a small box at the doorstep before she disappeared as quickly as she appeared. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Don't forget to kudos and to copy and paste below for requests on more Marvel movies on Netflix if you have it. Remember that https is always safe.
> 
> https://help.netflix.com/en/titlerequest
> 
> Thanks,  
> NemO3991 x


	10. Leave Me Alone!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,  
> Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—  
>  While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,  
> As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.  
> “’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—  
>  Only this and nothing more.”....'
> 
> The Raven - Edgar Allan Poe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've noticed that I'm 10 chapters and I might be dragging it a bit, ... BUT. I just want to give my character a back story instead of just sticking her in the midst of Marvel movies. 
> 
> Character development! Marvel characters are going to be involved. Pinky promise x

_Three hundred and one sheep. Three hundred and two sheep. Three hundred and three sheep. Three hundred and four-- oh my god! Go to sleep, damn you!_

"Well that's not going to happen if you can't shut up!" The tingling in my fingers wouldn't stop. I was trying to sleep it off but the spots of clouded black wouldn't come off of my fingertips. It looked as if I'd dipped them in tattoo ink. I may have found something to connect the tattoos I already have. Problem solved! I sighed deeply into the pillow which is currently suffocating me. My last resort if I can't sleep? Force it or something along those lines. 

I am currently laying in a bed at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, and again I can't settle for sleep. 

I think I have a serious problem. 

I tear the pillow from my face with a groan. _Maybe you should try a sleep doctor?_ I gaze up to my head. 

"Not happening. My paranoia is bad enough that I have to worry about him asking about my life. And there's the fact that I can't even remember what my mom looks like, I can't remember the last time I had a friend." _That's why you created Anji and you have me._ "Great." I sighed sarcastically. I honestly can't believe it's come down to this. Almost six years in this anonymous game, I have agents close on my trail, I have no idea if they're looking for me but that's what my paranoia is for. The only things that I can remember clearly about my past, that I thought I had left behind, HYDRA training and torture. I can never shake them off! Memories of watching videos of the man who had made those videos personally for me, he was associated with the man my mom hated. And then there's my grandparents. I can only remember the last time I saw them which was before I became this anonymous girl. 

Throwing the covers off of myself, I got up not bothering to look at the time, I picked up my bag from the chair and moved to the door. 

The tingling in my fingers erraticated when I put my hand on the door handle. I could hear vibrations of something coming from outside my room. Clicking the door open, I peak out. The vibrations were coming from a security camera right above my door. I slowly moved, detecting its side to side movement. When it was turned away, I sneaked away down the hall and down the three flights of stairs to the basement where they were keeping the laundromat.

Time for some past midnight washing! Channel thirty, watching until I get dizzy!

  
*******

  
A black car pulls up just outside of an Italian restaurant. The street was practically empty except a few people closing up shop or walking home. 

Agent Coulson stepped out of the car. He checked around him before stepping at the entrance of an alleyway bedside the local italian restaurant. Glancing upwards, he saw a noticeable camera just above a light that shone a spotlight to the two agents that stood underneath it.

"Got anything for me?" He asked, as a few more agents, who were wearing protective stealth uniforms and weapons as they stalked down the alley.

"There was footage coming from around this area and the tracker seemed to come to a stop just a few doors down at the pawn shop. But then there was a signal of the tracker moved to round the back allies towards the park at a fast pace."

"Did you find them?"

"Uh... no. We lost them. It seemed as though the tracking that we were getting was a dud. A fake stream. They might still be in Manhattan." 

"Right. But the thing is we don't know who we're dealing with here. They'll leave anything without so much as a digital or even a physical fingerprint. So why here? They passed out in the dumpster or something?"

"When we picked up the trackers movements again, it stopped around here. There hasn't been any further movement for a while since we managed to get the information back on."  
The only question on Coulson and probably on all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lips was, why was Fury holding off on this person so much? This person, whoever they are, they're making a fool out of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a fool out of Fury. And he's not very keen on it. 

Whoever they are after. This person knows when to walk into the blind spots of any street camera and knows about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. This person is getting past every rule.   
But how?

"Agent Coulson, sir." He whipped his head towards one of the agents coming over.

"What is it? Have you found them?" He followed the agent back to where the area had been closed off.

"We've found something that might have been left behind." He locked his eyes on a different material hanging from its handle in the hilt of a gun and being placed in the ground. Coulson crouched down infront of it, an agent shone their torch over it. A rough and worn black cotton material. He grabbed a pen from his pocket and pushed the folded material aside to reveal the opening of the bag. From the back of his belt was a small box which, when he scanned over the spam of the black material, it lit up a green beam at what he was really looking for. He flipped the cover and the green light hummed directly at a miniature bud as it gleamed a luminous blue from the stitching. 

He pressed into the device in his ear.

"Report. I've found the tracker. It's attached to a black travel bag, it was thrown into a dumpster beside Danny's Italian restaurant." He sighed. "It was where they were last seen."

**_"Right. So, how are we supposed to know if they're still in Manhattan? They move quickly."_ **

"I'm not entirely sure. We could bring in the bag and see if we can find anything, but it doesn't seem likely." He motioned for the agents to collect the bag and they moved quickly not to touch it directly and moved it into a plastic bag. While he watched them do, he took out the small box again and clicked it open to reveal a small diamond ear stud. "There might be something that could help us do it."

**_"But we don't know if it'll work. It's shut itself down completely."_ **

"We can't know until we try and we're close to getting them." He walked out of the alley and back to the car. "Prepare the stealth movement. We can't slip up this time."

  
*******

  
DING!

I almost jumped out of my skin hearing the washing machine finish. I must have fallen asleep. How is sitting on a dryer more advertising for my insomnia than a fluffy, comfortable bed? 

I jump down from the machine and go over to the washing that was now done. I've only done my whities. All I got to do now is colour and I'm done. Holy crap! Now I'm tired. Sarcasm alert! Watching my clothes go round and round really takes it out of me. But travelling, ugh! Don't get me started. All that walking. Using the powers that I didn't want in the first place just to get around? Yeah, no it's not tiring at all.

I almost chucked the colours in without even checking the pockets. That's one thing my grandma taught me to do before I did a moonlight. "Always check your pockets, it might waste but you never know." My awful impression of my grammy. I haven't lived up to my Russian heritage very well. I don't think my mom did either. She preferred to ignore their calls. 

Whatever was clear I threw into the washing machine. When I got to the jogging bottoms, I found a small white card.  
 **Jane Foster - 555-6366**

"Who are you?" I flipped the piece of white card over but all there was written was a name and a phone number. Am I supposed to know? "Jane Foster?" Something went off in my brain. Jane.

 _"I know I said that I owe you one by getting you a coffee... but I think i could do a better deal."_  
 _Jane._  
 _"Who's Iris Harvey?"_

"Me." Shit. Jane. I'd forgotten all about her! I glanced down at the card again, shoving the joggers into the washing machine. "I have a call to make." I caught the clock on the wall. One twenty two a.m.. "Or I could call her in the morning."

Once all of the washing had been done, I trudged back up to my room. Patting my pockets, there was no sign of my hotel key card. I had forgotten it. How more ridiculously stupid do I have to be? Face palm. 

Ugh. I hate doing this. It hurts so much!

I place my hand over the slot where the card should slip through, the feeling of the sparks through my hand and my fingers burned, I rip my hand away after hearing the beep to allow me to enter.

Slumping down onto the bed, I look down at my hands. The black stain was now at my knuckles and mid palm. 

"It's never done this before." _Maybe you really are sick. Just like your mamma told ya._ "I don't even remember that." _Of course you do, look._

_Shoving two full bags into my arms, I look up to see my mom with the familiar expression of 'royal pissed', her face was drained. Tired. Her long dark brown dreadlocks tied back out of her face so you could just see how prominent her collarbones are. She had lost weight ever since I had come back from the hospital. I had heard her cry a few times when I was sent home from school for accidently hurting somebody. But she wasn't upset to push me out the door._

_"Get out of here you sick child. Run, hide and never look into the past. Not even for me."_

_"But mom--"_

_"I said get out of here!" She pushed me so hard I fell and landed on my back. The bags falling beside me. "I don't care where you go, Katherine. I can't take care of you no more, baby. Whatever has happened to you.... I can't do this!" I felt a hand grip my arm, forcing me to stand. I took a good look at them. It was one of my mamma's friends. Black slicked back hair, leather jacket that cigarette smoke stuck to, a dark red v-neck, black jeans and those ugly-ass timberland boots. He was a representation of a mess. His olive-skinned man hands got a hold of again._

_"Come on, Tabby." I freaking hate that nickname. My eyes searched from his to my mom's tired brown orbs that we once embraced. When she would hold me as we both sat in front of her full body mirror, my small body sat on her crossed legs. Now? She's acting like none of that ever happened as she closed the front door, not even looking back at me. "No more crying now. There's no use for it."_

_I didn't realise I was crying until I felt their warmth drip down my neck._

_I wiped them away as he directed me to the car waiting for us._

My body shot up as I drew in a sharp breath, my eyes wide. 

Was I asleep?

I rub my face, wiping away the dream that I just had. I haven't dreamt of my mom in a long time. I think about her every now and then but I never dream about her. I open my eyes but I stare at what I can only describe as a holographic person sitting on my bed.   
It was kinda like out of Star Wars but not so fuzzy. More like high definition. It was gazing down at its holographic hands that they were turning over. I sat up and inched closer but stopped when it turned to me.

"Fascinating." 

**"Fascinating."** It spoke in sync with me. Now that I'm awake, I think, really focusing on it, it looked like me. Same short hair. Same outline of tattoos. Same shape eyes and cheeks. It even had a singular stud in its ear like I did.

I reached to touch it ... me. It doing the same. Just as our fingertips touched, the holographic me quickly turned to the front door. I didn't hear anything. No commotion. Not a sound. It stood up and I followed. I stepped forward and the other me faded itself into my body which made my eyes and brain focus on what it could hear.

Footsteps.

Car breaks and tires screeching.

More than a few cocks of guns. They weren't in the building yet.

I could feel the tingling coursing through my veins to behind my eyes. No doubt my eyes changing from brown to the ghostly mist white. The black ink-like stain, stretched itself upwards, like vines tangling themselves under my skin and stopped just above my elbow. I walked on until I opened my door and into the hallway, I glanced upwards to the security camera just above my head which showed me through various other cameras, where these people were.

Thanks to the parking lot camera, they were driving quietly up the street where this hotel was. 

Rooftop view showed that there were uniformed men and women prepping their weapons and gear in the shadows. A voice echoes into my ears, it hurts for me to try and reach for it but I manage to get through to one of their ear pieces.

"Wait for my word. We don't want to scare them off."

A single helicopter flies past the building.  
Coming back into the security cameras, apart from me, there's nobody else in this building.   
They're hunting for me.

Stepping back into my room, I close the door and lean my hands against it. I hang my head in shame at myself.

I've come all this way. Nearly six years and they have a clear shot of me. But... what would they do to me? Would they kill me? Use me for experiments or try to use me as a weapon like...

The vision of me strapped to a table. _My body tense and numb. The only thing I hear are my screams. I feel my blood pumping faster and faster. I feel all of their eyes on me._

_"You said you would take it away." ...._

I remember _his_ eyes staring blankly at me from under the shadow of his dark hair. Those blue eyes held something. Someone. But even he didn't remember who he was. "You just won't leave me." _He haunts you. But you can't let them do it either. You have to keep running._ I open my eyes and see my bare feet, my toes curling at the thought of  _him._

Footsteps were getting closer.

Shadows passed the light shining from under my door. My heart stops. 

"No." 

**_"Be ready for my signal."_** ....

I step away from the door to slip on my sneakers and put my bag over my shoulder. 

They're at the balcony.

One, two, three, four, five, six and seven of you are outside my door.

From my bag, I grab the one thing I kept from my past. The black scarf gets wrapped around the lower part of my face so only the glow in my eyes is seen.

With the tingling, I focus my energy on turning off all of the lights. I press my body up against the wall around the corner to the door as I hear the sound of them being allowed in. Their footsteps inching closer.

_Run._

I slam the door shut. Catching the attention of ... three of the men in my room. _They have night vision too._ I take a quick kick shot to the back of the legs and a knockout punch to his face at the agent closest to me, another charges at me. I duck out of the way to use his gun to whack his face then grab his waist and flip him over my shoulders. The last one clicks to fire which I force to stop the bullets mid air as my other hand motions upwards to send him flying up, his back and head hitting the ceiling hard and he flops to the floor. Dodging out the way at the same time as I release the energy bubble from around the bullets, they fire directly at the agents charging into my room from there place on the balcony.

I unlock the door and they shoot at me, I yelp as one scrapes and burns my leg, the holographic me takes the bullets and aims at a different force at them sending them either flying or hitting the wall. I close and lock the door again. I run towards the balcony door, balance myself on the ledge. My leg now trickling with blood, down into my shoe. To my right are more ledges, so I prep, run and jump from balcony to balcony until I hear the purr of the helicopter coming around. Staying on the ledge more than a few doors away from what was mine, I smash my into an empty room and keep running.

When I'm in the hall, they're only a few metres behind and aiming at me. Raising my hands in natural defence, their bullets hitting my bubble, I let out a scream as the pained flow of electricity shoots charges at them, the floor breaking and collapsing beneath them so you could just see the next level floor. Holy shit!

"I'll pay for that! I can pay!" I shout while taking the chance to ran up the staff staircase until I got to the fifth floor where I heard rushed footsteps coming down.

I keep running through door to door, I blindly run into the room that held the large family swimming pool. It was so huge and empty that my footsteps echoed and became wet from flowing just over the edge of the pool. Classical music could be heard through the speakers in the top corners of the room. White walls that held the reflection of the light that bounced off the water. 

A hollow purring sound penetrated the classical music as quickly as the bullets thundered through the tall windows to the ground around me, so I did the only thing I could to get away. I jump in the pool. From under water I swam to the wall looking back as bullets sharply pierced the delicate water closer to me until it seemed they couldn't reach. I waited a little while and listened.   
I was running out of breath. I wasn't hearing or seeing anything. Coming up from the water, I peaked out and turned around to the shattered windows.

It was way too quiet. 

I gripped the side and pulled myself up, causing a few shards of glass to pierce my hands making me yelp in pain. I fully climbed out and looked down at my hands. A big piece of glass was sticking out of my right palm, I ripped out and threw it aside as a familiar purr came from outside again. I moved to the wall inbetween the tall used-to-be windows. The breeze rushing in making my hair sweep over my face as I picked at the glass that I could reach. Blood was gushing from the biggest wound. 

"We know you're in there! We have officers waiting and armed right outside those doors." From my bag a tore a piece of material from one of my shirts and wrapped up my hand, I winced as I pulled it tight. "Please cooperate with us. We are not here to harm you." That's not what your bullets said. Turning to the window and out to the helicopter. Scoping their machine, they had run out of ammo. For now.

I contemplated my next moves.

They still don't know what I really look like or who I am, the only thing they know about me is that I'm here. 

_Are you?_

That's an idea.

*******

They prepared themselves for whatever may come. Through the com each agent had heard the screams and the unmistakable thunderous blast from the second floor where they had tracked down the whereabouts of this anonymous person.

"Please cooperate with us. We are not here to harm you." One of the agents called through the speaker. His voice booming through to the opening wall where there bullets had completely destroyed the windows and a trail of the concrete wall, leaving a long horizontal crack. The agent turned to the rest of the crew that where sitting patiently armed. "Maybe we should--"

"Positions!" A voice called through the come in their ears. Each man, except for the pilot, quickly moved to where they last saw the figure getting out from the pool, who now was standing in the windows opening. Their stance solid and unmoving. 

"Why are theu just standing there? Do they want to be killed?"

 ** _"Do not kill them. I repeat do not kill them. If we're going to get any answers from them at all they need to be alive."_ ** Fury's voice boomed, one agent holding his gun point so the target was aimed at the shoulder, he saw them move to look down at where he was aiming before turning their mystical white eyes stare directly at him through his guns telescope. Before he could say anything else, he watched as their hands move at the same time a white noise cut through each of their ear pieces.

"I can hear you." A new, gentle and unrecognisable voice came through. It was them.

"My god." He sighed, lowering his gun but keeping his eyes on them. An order was given but nobody else from anywhere else in the building could hear. They only heard what was said from the person next to them. A sudden shudder in the aircraft corrupted them to move, but the force of the shudder made the helicopters station to shut down and slowly fall from the sky. 

Kat paces backwards, waiting for the perfect moment then charging to the opening and forcing her body as far as she could into the air and grabbing hold of one of the landing skids, moving fast to throw herself to the other side as the helicopter continued to lower but with her control, her hands charging their strong black mist, making the machine edge to the building on the other side of the street, letting go and bracing herself for a bumpy landing thanks to the shot in her leg.

The helicopter gaining its control back as she rolled along the coal-like granite and standing up straight. Kat turned back to where the agents were now aiming at her again followed by their rapid gun fire. She lifted her hand, the black mist forming its vine like energy bubble and was thrown directly at them, the force of it shoving the flying machine into the hotels side. Kat continued to run as fast as she could as a fire broke out from the engine.

Climbing down the long fire escape, more agents raced down the road. Throwing herself from the height of the second to last ladder, she landed on top of the dumpster and raced down the alley as more agents followed closely behind. Charging up an energy ball, she threw it so that it would rebound off of the brick wall, blasting into pieces. When the bubbles landed on their targets, they blasted, hurling them backwards and crashing into oncoming vehicles. 

Kat ran across the road while rain began to fall and not lightly either, it was so full and heavy like a fog she almost gets hit but the black car flips over her head when she put her hand out infront of her. 

The agents come to a halt when they see a passed out agent on the sidewalk and one of their black cars screeching down the road. 

*******

_Are you crazy?! You've only driven a car once in your entire life!_

I didn't stop. Even when a delivery truck almost crashed into me. 

"Christ almighty!" I shout as I do the most craziest move going around the corner, my heart pumping rapidly from both fear and excitement that I'm actually keeping the car on the road. "That was so awesome! The storm isn't helping!" Laughing like a maniac, there was the sound of cars screeching behind me. "Ah, crap. You're going to spoil my fun." In the rear view mirror I notice that my eyes are still glowing white. How is that happening? One of the fancy black cars crashes into the side of the one I was somehow keeping control of. "Well I'm not paying for the paint job." They bumped me again. "Oh, so it's bumper cars y'all wanna play now. Alright." I felt like something tore me in half, I scream in pain, steering the car a sharp right.

*******

Agents watched how one black car split into two. 

Astonished. They also split into two, half of the amount of agents followed left, the other followed right, not knowing which was which.

The ones that followed right kept their eyes on the car driving in and out of the street lights, weaving inbetween cars and scraping a few before they came to an opening. A helicopter light shone on the car that seems to be losing control with the bumps in the desert grounds, a few bumps in they stopped as the car flipped over and crashing into the sandy ditch. They hop out of their cars and walk over to the seven foot deep ditch with their guns pointed at the car doors.

What they didn't see was the girl standing on the other side of the wide ditch, channelling all her energy on shutting down the two hovering helicopters. An agent saw the glow of her eyes and shot at her. She took the bullets, one of the helicopters fell and crashed behind the agents as they continued to shoot. When the second helicopter crash landed into the ditch as well, they could see the figure clearly. 

A girl. She stared blankly at them, not fussed by the flying pieces of metal. The rain drenching her curls, clothes and tanned skin.

Gradually raising her arms, the car that had been taken rose up into the air.

"Leave me alone!" A robotic glitch in her voice screamed as she threw the car at them. They had tried to run but were hit hard by its weight and they they fell like bowling pins.

Thunder clapped in the dark clouds that seemed to make a swirling form. A hand clasped the digital formation and it disappeared into its home body that had crawled from their hiding place in the ditch.

Kat gasped as the digital form connected to her as the storm grew stronger. The wind blowing the flames in one way with the swirl. To the clouds, Kat watched as a lightening strike touched ground a few miles away. 

The thing that followed shortly after was absurd. 

Was someone falling from the sky?

 

 


	11. Stranger Meets Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Home is where I want to be  
> Pick me up and turn me around  
> I feel numb, born with a weak heart  
> I guess I must be having fun
> 
> The less we say about it the better  
> Make it up as we go along  
> Feet on the ground, head in the sky  
> It's okay, I know nothing's wrong,....'
> 
> Talking Heads - This Must Be the Place

_"Leave me alone!" The pain of electricity surging through my body was so intense as I focused on the holographic me to throw the full body of the car at the men on the other side of the deep sand ditch._

_The storm._

_The lightening touching the ground._

_The person falling through the swirling dark clouds that showered rain and rumbled thunder._

_More crashing of lightening and the wind sweeping the rain, the sharp, wet slaps of raindrops drenching my skin, my hair sticking to my neck and my cheeks as I simply watched the spiral fade and the clouds lay flat across the sky. It took my breath away as the breeze made it difficult to face in the direction of the fallen person, I had to turn away, facing the destruction of fallen men, machines with the flames getting smaller with each drop of rain that kissed it. I turned around as the shower of rain was slowing down before coming to a complete stop when my hand grazed something soft like velvet. Switching my eyes from what I had done down to the random bright hibiscus flower growing up to touch my hand.  
_

_I slowly lifted my gaze to see a completely different ground than before.  
_

_A beautiful vibrant garden filled with greens in the leaves and vines strong as they hug the bodies of the tall, wise trees, blues of a water fountain, shades of pinks and oranges fitting in to compliment and create a sunset. The wide variety of flowers so vibrant. This was so peaceful. So fresh. The hibiscus nudged my hand as it continued to bloom.  
_

_"Who are you?" Sucking a quick breath in from the sudden voice that came from behind me and had interrupted my peace. A sudden cold breeze swamped over my body. The voice was deep and daunting. Goose pimples across my skin. I turned around slowly to see who was talking to me._

_In an instant strong green eyes snatched my focus. A man with shortish black hair slicked back, dressed in unusual clothing stood a few feet away from me. His eyes captured me as he stepped towards me, lurking around where I was standing glued to the spot. Where was I? And who is this man? I could feel a cold tingling on my leg from where my bullet wound was. His eyes caught me again when he stepped around the other side._

_"Who are you?" I ask. He simply smiles._

_"I believe that is the question that I asked you first?" Smart ass._

_"I'm Kat." Standing up straight, I still couldn't reach his height. I'm such a shortie. "Now it's your turn. Who are you?"_

_"I don't think I want to tell you. You appear as if from nowhere, faltering through my mother's garden. But... You will find out who I am soon enough." His smooth voice could almost lull me to sleep but he was new and spurring my curiosity._

_"How can you be so sure? I'm dreaming. Wait. How are you in my dream?" Where exactly is here? He turned his back and walked away. "Hey, wait!"_

_"Like I said. You will know who I am soon. As for your dream? You're dehydrated and possibly delusional." He spoke glancing around at the garden around us. "You did this?" Pointing behind me. I turn to face where he is looking to over my shoulder. A side of the garden had changed into the desert. Part of the skies turning dark and churning through the clear blue sky above the garden. I step closer to the shadowed spot to where a group of men lay dead or just unconscious. I couldnt tell. I was too scared to know. All of their eyes were closed._

_"I'm not sure. Probably. I-I- I didn't want to." Tears pricked the corner of my eyes. Did I kill people?_

_"Perhaps not delusional..." I turned to the man as he came to stand next to me to see the destruction and fire. "How can forget that you have killed someone?" I stared at the multiple bodies._

_"I don't know." A cold breeze came over my ear. It was him._

_"We'll that isn't very helpful." He sighed and with a graceful swipe of his hand, the bodies disappeared. I glanced up to him, his eyes already on me. They are some powerful green eyes. "Thank you." Scrunching up my nose._

_"Pardon?" Slightly confused. Did he hear me? Did I just speak out loud._

_"Did you not just say something about my eyes?"_

_"Not out loud. I don't think." He smiled widely._

_"No. But you must be wary of what you think of or what you talk about inside your mind. I can hear you loud and clear just as we speak." I swear I could feel myself blush. "You need to wake up. There is a sand storm coming and you wouldn't want to be stuck in the midst."_

_"What are you, the weather man now? You sure don't dress like one." He just glared at me._

_"Fine." He disappeared in a green mist._

_"Wait! You didn't tell who you are!" Before I knew it._

...a sand storm was creeping my way. Coughing from the dryness in my throat and mouth, lifting my head from the dip of mid and sand around my head and spit out some of the golden granules. That's disgusting! I struggle to balance myself to stand. Blocking the light flecks of sand with my arm, I turn my head the other way, then freeze.

Where are the bodies? The helicopters? The cars? Where are they? 

Did I sleep walk or something? 

Sand was getting in my still damp hair and clothes. A sharp prodding pain came from my leg. The bullet wound was still bleeding but only a little bit. The material I used for the bandage lay slump and wet at my ankle.

"What friggin' use are you?!" I yell at it, twisting my leg. Remember that part in Ace Ventura? The second one where he gets darts or arrows in his thighs? That's what I look like now. I kneel down to get a better look at the wound. "Not that deep." More sand is rushed into my face as I untie the wet material off and replace it by getting the top from my bag and getting another make-shift bandage. It's not clean but it's also not infected, I gotta keep moving or be buried in the sand.

It had already been five minutes of walking through this storm, covering my mouth and nose with a damp scarf. At least in the wind it'll dry my clothes. I lift my hand to block my eyes when the wind stopped. I look up to see my energy bubble surrounding my body, whisps of sand hitting or stroking it.

"God damn it!" Ripping my scarf from my face, I continue on. Shaking my head at myself. "I'm such a dumbass."

It wasn't long until the storm came to an end and I came to a field, deserted property, letting go of my bubble so nobody could see it. If there was actually someone around to notice. No one has driven by in hours. Well, I haven't got a watch and my phone is dead so I can't tell how long I've been walking for.

"Hello?" It was just a small house, an abandoned dusted truck and across a field sat a barn. Everything just looked dried out and hadn't been used in years. "Hello?" I called once I had managed to wedge open the door, almost falling to the floor with how much pressure I had to put against it. Great. More dust.

*******

**S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, New York**

"How in the world is this possible?! Not a single one you, no matter what level you are on, can't find this girl? Over thirty agents are injured. Some don't have any recollection of the events of what happened last night. Luckily no one died this time." Fury crossed the floor of the meeting room, pausing the footage that had been taken from one of the helicopters at the hotel, the paused shot of a girl with bright, glowing white eyes, black hands, reaching for the helicopter mid air. Several agents seated around the expansive table, more agents listened in through com's or on a screen. "One single person. That's all that I'm asking for you to bring in. Why is it so difficult?" One agent raised a hand. "Yes?"

"Sir. With all due respect, there were no specific details of this girl. All we knew that she was a person. We didn't know if she had ... powers."

"It's all new information for us, agent. But she is on the New York Police Departments files for a breaking and entering. And she's wanted by Calgary Police for a murder. She is a wanted criminal amd we dont know what else she may or may not have done." An image of Jacob Mable came up on the screen in front of the screen shot. "This man was beaten to death. Almost unrecognizable. We need to get a hold of this girl before they do. Otherwise things aren't going to go down so well. She's too dangerous, too strong to be held down by police force. That's where S.H.I.E.L.D. comes in." Fury leant on the table and looked each agent in the eye. "The warranty has been classified to us. I want her brought in before anything else happens. Do I make myself clear?" The agents nodded. "Good. Now I want each of you to get your reports and move."

*******

"Ow! Shit!" I clasp my hand to my chest after yanking it away from the piping inside the truck. It's so old and rusty that it doesn't want to cooperate with being fixed. Now that sounds bad. Makes it sound like I'm about to neuter it. I crouch down to grab a spanner from the toll box. Someone left this baby or box full of babies in the abandoned house. It was sitting in corner of a cupboard just calling my name.

A dry cough took over from my chest, making me hunch over away from the truck.

"Oh crap." I need some water! My lips are chapped. I'm getting hungry, but in order to get anywhere fast, I need this damn truck to work with me! I have been working on this for what seems like so long now. I've checked everywhere in this bonnet for anything that looks off or out of place but ... it's fine!

Lightbulb.

Although I'm too tired for anything, I close my eyes to focus on something new. Opening my eyes, I could see the whole insides of the cars bonnet. That's when I saw it, wedged just underneath the fuse box was a black handled pocket knife. After I taken it out and bound the pierced hole up, I managed to clean the piping and from the drivers seat I gear up the engine, the truck to purring in response.

"Yaay." I clap for me and step out of the truck.

"Old rusty. Cliché name but what are you gonna do." Yeah, I heard myself. Talking to myself is bad enough, now I'm talking a dang clump of metal. I scurry to close the hood then collect my bag and my new tools and hop back into the drivers seat. I sighed in relief. I'm getting there. Nearly to wherever I'm going. Oh, yeah! Jane! Cripes. I think I'll do better at remembering once I get to Mexico. Its so far! I've got to keep moving. People are getting way too close. Placing my things in the passenger seat, I catch sight of the pocket knife.

What if it was used as a murder weapon? The blade could have gone through someone's body.

"No." I shake the thought out of my head. How could you forget that you have killed people? I could practically feel his cold aura. I still don't know his name. What a strange dream that was. Anyway! Hearing the purr makes me so happy!

Doing do a full U-turn, I speed down the road with a trail of dusting dirt behind me.

**The Next Day**

"Just these please." I placed three bottles of water, a packet of slightly salted tortilla chips and various brands of chocolate onto the counter. The man raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh, and could I have some Ibuprofen please?" As he reached back for them the back of my head started to ache. The aching in my head started last night when I'd parked up at a gas station just outside of Nashville. I haven't stopped driving and I think it's starting affect me. I slept alright this morning for about an hour or so but my body doesn't want to rest right now. All it wants to do is eat, gulp down tons of water, pee a lot and just drive. I'll be in New Mexico by tomorrow, if not in a few hours after I have a quick nap.

"Five seventy three." He asked with a strong Latin accent. From my purse, I give him ten dollars.

On the way out of the small shop, I take a huge bite out of one of the chocolate bars. "Oh, honey. You are so good." My belly rumbled happily. After driving for a little bit more, I park on the side of the road and snuggle into the seat. Getting comfortable all too easily. It didn't seem like I had slept for that long when I was woken up by taps on the window. I shot up and looked left at the police officer standing, hands on hips, he motioned for me to roll down the window. Which I did with great struggle.

"Evening ma'am."

"Evening officer. How can I help you?" His thick moustache could be a toy for a kitten.

"I'm afraid you can't park on the side of the road."

"How long have I been sitting here?" He glanced back and forth in the road.

"About an hour. My colleague drove by a moment ago and saw ya. Thought you had gotten in some kinda accident." His once was very ... how should I say, southern. I could just imagine him spitting into a jar.

"No I'm good. Just an old truck that my dad gave to me."

"That's something that we picked up on When we drove up to ya. This car isn't registered."

"Oh, I was going into ...uh.. I was just going to see someone about that. I have an appointment." I smiled as sweetly as I could at him. I could make myself sick with this fake smile.

"But you were sleeping. And it's..." he checked his watch. "Just gone one o'clock ma'am."

"Yeah, uh... The DMV that my dad told me to go to is in New Mexico." Lightbulb. I got the white card from my back pocket. "Could you tell how far I am ...from here, please?" I showed him the address on the card. He looked over it.

"New Mexico is about another three or so hour drive. You might not make it in time to the DMV but if you literally carry on following this road down here. Just follow the signs, there's a little town called Puente Antiguo, ya can't miss it."

"Thank you, officer."

"Make sure you get this car registered." No!

"Don't worry, I'll get it done as soon as I get there. Thank you." I start the engine and go to move when I hear him call.

"Wait! Do you have a driving license? Miss!"

*******

Puente Antiguo, 3 hours later  
I rubbed my eyes with a big yawn. Holy moley I'm tired. I need to park this car and get some coffee in me.

I parked just down the road from a furniture shop. Cutting the engine off, I sat there. The pain in my head was fine, not as bad as I thought it would grow to be. I grab my purse from my bag, hop out and lock the truck.  
"Or maybe I'm speaking too soon." I go for a walk, taking in the sight of this small town. Up one of the roads was what looked and what I hoped was a cafe sitting on the corner. As I get closer, I could read the sign a lot more clearly.

Isabel's Diner.

I sighed deeply. My legs not wanting to move with how tired I was. Stepping into the diner, I didn't get to take the style of it as someone smashed a cup on the floor, making me leap out of my skin.

"Another!" A blonde man seemed proud of his mazel tov. The small brunette sitting opposite him leaned forward before moving from her seat to pick up the pieces. I went over to the counter and ordered a coffee.

"You want something to eat?" The lady with behind the counter asked, checking me up and down.

"No. I'm fine, thank you. Just the coffee." While I waited, I buried m my face into my hands. I could fall asleep right now.

"Here you are. One coffee." I thank her before I got a tap on my shoulder.

"Excuse me." I was having trouble keeping eyes open but turned to face whoever was keeping me awake. "I'm sorry about .. My friend when you--" she stopped herself once she really looked at me. "Iris?"

"Jane?" That contagious smile was back. She took a seat on the stool next to me.

"Oh my goodness! How have you been?"

"Good. Good." Crap. I haven't got anything.

"What are you doing around here?"

"I've been thinking a lot about the umm..." I've never stuttered before in my life. Come on! Think.

"My offer?" I nodded, taking a sip of my hot coffee. "You travelled all the way here from Calgary?" I suppose so. "Iris, you should've called me. I would've met you at the airport. When did you get in? Wait. Sorry I'm blubbering on. Come and sit with us. Meet your new colleagues."

"Sure." She got another coffee for the blonde dude then we went over to their table where I met Darcy, Thor, apparently he's new. I've never met a man with a name of a Norse god before.

"What a beautiful name for a beautiful maiden." Was he wooing me?

"Thor." Jane growled at him.

"No Jane. It's okay. Really. Thank you, Thor." He sent me a cheeky smile with a wink. My cheeks began to flush. What? Come on. He's pretty, handsome and pretty handsome. Wow.

"And this Professor Erik Selvig." My heart stopped. WHAT?! I didn't want to face him. Oh my god! But I'm about to look him in the eye--

"Hello, Iris. It's nice to meet someone who is a fan of my work." He's shaking my hand! I'm screaming on the inside right now.

"You have no idea." No! Don't geek out. Play it cool.

"Pardon?"

"I said you have no idea. I'm in love with your research and your writing. I still own your first official copy of your book 'The Original Study of the Earth's Magnetosphere' that I bought when I first started travelling. I've read it over and over. I honestly can't get enough of it." He seemed a bit baffled then offered me his chair as he pulled another one up between me and Thor who seems distracted by a conversation going on with some men that had just walked in.

"Well, I have been working on a new book." I can't lose my cool.

"Really? What are you writing about?" He made a quick look at Thor.

"I'm not entirely sure. With all the research I've done these past few years... It's lacking a bit. But something new has come up so I'm hoping it will--" Thor stood up and walked over to the men who had just come in. I'm not sure what they were talking about but it seems to get Thor going. 

"Come on." Jane said to me and so I followed the trio running after him. Thor simply walked out in the middle of the road with cars honking at him as they drove around him. What on Earth? "Thor! Where are you going?" Jane called as Darcy and Erik caught up with us.

"Fifty miles west of here."

"Why?" 

"To get what belongs to me." 

"What's fifty miles from here?" I ask, getting a little out of breath, Jane turned to me. 

"A satellite that came out of nowhere. Those men back there found it's landing but apparently Thor owns now." She said turning back to him as he continued on.

"It's not what they say it is." Wait. Wouldn't that have been the thing falling from the sky during the storm?

"Wait. That was a satellite." Thor slowed down, turning to me with eager eyes.

"You know of it?" I shrugged. Not actually sure of what it was.

"I guess. On my way here I saw something falling from the sky. But it looked like a person but that's crazy. Plus I was miles away." Thor gave Jane a kind of knowing look. "But it could have been anything from where I was standing. I was getting rain in my eyes."

"Well whatever it is the government seems to think it's theirs so... do you just intend to go on in there and take it?" Thor looked between the two of us.

"Yes." He had stopped in his tracks and glanced down at Jane.

"If you take me there now... I'll tell you everything you wish to know." 

"Everything?"

"Yes. All the answers you seek will be yours, once I reclaim Mjöllnir." Huh? Is this guy for real? 

"Meowmeow? What's meowmeow?" Darcy asks coming to stand by us as Erik tries to talk Jane out of going with Thor. I don't see a problem or did I come at a wrong time?

Well, it's too late to turn back now, I guess.

Thor gives me a soft smile. There was something about him that I just can't put my finger on. Or maybe it was just his charm. When he kissed the back of Jane's hand saying 'farewell' to Erik and Darcy, my body woke up when he placed his hand infront of me. I place mine into his.

"My lady. It was lovely to meet you." He said placing a kiss on the back of my hand. Sending me another wink.

"How come you two get the special treatment? All I get is a nod of recognition?" I hear Darcy say as I watch Thor still walk in the middle of the road.

"Are you alright Iris?" Jane places a hand on my shoulder. What is going on with me? "Charming right?"

Yeah. Real charmer.

_Preferably not as charming as some._

There was that voice again.

 

 


	12. Banishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Children gather for a story. A story of old. A story of war. A story of blessings. 
> 
> The story of betrayal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! If you like reading this story so far please give a kudos, share it and comment with what you like and what you would like to see! I'm just as fangirly as the rest of you!

_A long time ago, in the world of Asgard, there was once an ambitious and vivacious young lady who, after coming of age, entered the gates of the Allfather's palace with her mind set on becoming an infamous valkyrie warrior._

_Her name was Kára, like the reincarnated soul of the famous valkyrie, Sigrún. Like other girls her age she trained hard and trained well, over time gaining the title of shieldmaiden Kára of Asgard. Her attitude collaborated to extremes with her natural agilities in combat lead her to the top of the class in weaponised training and hand to hand combat. Lead valkyrie warriors, the Allfather Odin especially, expected great things from Kára due to her name sake._

_After only a few months of training, war was declared by Laufey Laufeyson of Jotun, wreaking a ferocious battle that lasted years._

_So many souls were burdened for death. That was until Kára felt something shift in her ways. Going over tactics and battle plans of the gates of war as neither side were backing down, she told Odin of the plans and with brute, intangible force and no resistance, all warriors of Asgard and .... came together to defeat the Jotun’s. Overtaking them with a heavy army, Kára had followed Odin until theu came across a crying babe. One of them. A frost giant, yet Odin took it upon himself to help the defeanseless child and would raise the child in hopes to bring peace to both worlds._

_With the battle won, the defeat against the frost giants as they surrendered, a ceremony was held for the fallen women, men and children of the war. Kára was recognised for her strategic methods, courage and quick thinking when thought that all hope was lost. Kára gained promotion from shieldmaiden to the Allfather's guard and was in charge of being a battlefront lead of the soldiers if ever preparing for battle._

_Years went by and Odin’s guard was still faithful as ever._

_The young girl turned woman trained relentless growing expenditure of warriors to hold solid ground, she even sparred with Thor and his friends warriors three from a young age, young lady Sif looked up to this almost mysterious and strong minded woman who guarded the life of her best friend's father._

_As time went by, Odin had granted most of the shieldmaiden’s their deserved titles and rightful place as they gained their wings in a ceremony of entitlement. Young Sif would climb the side of the stairs unnoticed by Odin or Frigga to tug on the dark blue material sticking out formally from underneath Kára's shining silver armour and she would kneel down to the girls level as she spoke, “One day, I want to be a fierce leader like you. You don’t need wings to be remembered or to be tough.” With a soft kiss to her hair, Kára stood straight once more at Odin's side. Unbeknownst to those innocent eyes, Kára had recently grown a tinge of jealousy as she watched the men and women, that she had personally trained, gain a title that she wanted so badly after so many years of loyalty to keeping Odin, his family and the kingdom safe._

_One afternoon Kára asked to speak with the Allfather. She asked why she had not yet gained her wings, being the reincarnated soul of a valkyrie surely she should follow propriety and go with the path that fate had set for her to obtain the reputation of such greatness._

_Odin disagreed._

_“Your path was chosen for you the moment you were brought into this world. You have continued to prove yourself worthy of the title you gained after the battle with the Jotun. What more could you ask for?” He asked, it dawned on Kára's sudden vulnerable heart that it was only the two of them in the great hall. It was all the more intimidating as the dark shadows of the hall seemed to crawl ever closer to Kára's feet, though with only the glow of the sunset created a spotlight for each of them._

_“Allfather, I could never be unfaithful to be of your service but.... I know that I am meant for so much more than what I am.” She pleaded._

_“I am afraid... what has been set for you can not be changed.”_

_“Allfather ... please—”_

_“Enough! What is done is done. Be thankful for what you have and be thankful that I didn’t send you back to the beginning.” Kára would never shed tears infront of Odin. She has never been able to let tears fall ever since losing her friends in war. Odin continued gently, “For as long as you have been in my service you have yet to inform me of your choices until now while you are a grown woman. You have not ever told me about what title you so greatly wish or what you really wanted.”_

_“I thought that... if I could please you and guard your life... I could gain the reputation and knowledge to become a great valkyrie. A warrior of the fallen. I just want to be...more."_

_“I am afraid that I cannot grant you that gift. A Kings guard cannot change position."_   
_Late at night Kára would only dream of what she had missed a chance on having. Did she choose the right path? Or did she only choose the path that people wanted her to? With that single thought, something snapped inside Kára's mind, a darkness deeper than any night sky or the depth of the oceans._

_She stood at the side of Odin’s bedside, She had watched over him, imagining what it would take to be better. To be **more.**  Raising her dagger into the air set on for the target. _

_His heart._

_And with a thrust above her head the dagger was swept from her grip and smack against the wall beside Odin’s bed post, awakening the Allfather and his wife with a start. Kára looked around for the sorcery, only to find the young and mischievous brother of Thor... Loki. He ran calling for the guards. The kingdom awoke. Kára was arrested and exiled the very next morning for attempted murder of the Allfather._

_But with her release of her duties, Kára roams the realms with her rooted ambition to become more. With determination, she would have an army greater than Asgard and Jotunheim put together and force her arms directly into the peace that our generations have spent so much time clinging to, hoping that it will never be disrupted._

_To this day, no one knows where she was sent to or where she is now... the only thing that the people of Asgard know of her is that she still lives and they await the return for the battle of the ages for the nine realms....”_

 

 

 


	13. The Prophecy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snake bite and furthermore always carry a small snake.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment, share & kudos!
> 
> NemO3991 x

My fingertips on one hand rhythmically tapped on the marble top of the seating table I was leaning on, listening to the quiet shuffles and whispers or soft chatter between other people, the chairs in here are just as uncomfortable as the conversation, and on the other hand I held the spine of an open ‘Tales and Poems of Gods of the Old Norse’. Its almost strange reading passages that some people out there still believe in in a spiritual way. Gaining knowledge and envisioning what it was like in the days of the Vikings, with their beliefs in Nordic or Celtic spirituality which clashed with the boundaries of Christianity.

That reminds me that I haven’t read a passage from the bible in a while. Maybe God doesn't want me to. Being born into a Christian family turned into a burner when my mom kicked me out because of my new found ‘freakish' powers. When my mom discovered that I was different, permanently, it was a ‘Jesus Christ compels you!’ moment.

Sitting alone in the library, just outside the little Mexican town, listening to mamma’s and their babies and toddlers sing along with the librarian to nursery rhymes while I was bored crapless waiting for my phone to charge and apparently pondering my life choices.

Before I came in here, I had to let Jane know that I have to turn the job down. Bad timing. She took it well, I think, understanding. So here I am waiting for the my phone to get to a decent five percent before I get a move on to where I’ll be going next.

*******

**Asgard**

_“...To this day, no one knows where she went or where she is... the only thing that the people of Asgard know of her is that she still lives and they await the return for the battle of the ages for the nine realms....”_

“That’s a bit horrific for a children's story don’t you think?” Lady Sif asked the elderly maid who was telling the rare story to little kids as she and her friends, Fandral, Volstagg and Hogan, came to a stop on their way down the golden halls.

“Excuse me?” The elderly woman spoke lifting her head to Lady Sif and the warriors three standing in the doorway.

“Well, I mean... come on. Look at them! They’re horrified. Except for that one. What have you been feeding him?” Fandral said pointing his finger at the little chubby kid sitting right at the front, smiling a bit too proudly.

“Nothing. Other than the stories you grew up with Fandral. You were this eager once, you know. More eager than some to know more about the warrior Kings Guard who had trained you.” Nurse answered without missing a beat and head held high, making Fandral stand straight and the others chuckle. “All four of you. And not forgetting Prince Thor.”

“You’re pretty much asking for that kid to grow up to be a wannabe psychopath. Plus it’s just tales of rumours about... whatsherface?”

“I am surprised that you have forgotten about Kára, guardian of the Fallen the Allfather.” The nurse corrected.

“Not anymore by the sounds of it. Come on.” Sif enquired before ushering her friends forth towards the throne room.

“As I was saying.” The maid looked over the little faces once again to conclude the story. One of them raised their hand. A small golden haired, blue eyed girl in a flowing green dress. “Yes, Evelyn?”

“What about her birth mark? Is it true that it would be passed onto the enemies she strikes in battle?”

“No, not exactly my dear. But The day of her exile she was branded with a serpent bracelet tattoo for her attempted vile deed and it will be forever branded on every child she may bare but the serpent will also be passed on and on into generations so that everyone will know who she is wherever she chooses to be throughout history as a traitor against her own word.”

“What does the serpent represent, Nurse?” The smiling chubby child Fandral had pointed out earlier asked.

“The Silver tongue. Lies. Disseat. She had protected the Allfather for years but immediately turned on her word when her own jealousy grew too bitter.” Now all of the children were smiling, clearly enjoying the excitement.

“Do you think it’s true about the prophecy?” Another child asks.

“What about it?” Nurse asks in return and the children share a look at one another.

“If Kára was to follow the path to Hél, gather her army, would Asgard fall?” With a heavy heart and a heavy sigh Nurse thought about how to answer without giving them any nightmares about their home turning to dust.

“Not if Kára tries to take the crown off of Héla first.” Clapping her hands once, she quickly finished the story. “Right that’s enough story time. More tomorrow.”

Upon urgent entry, there was a strange air about the place as all four warriors bow their heads at whim was sitting on the throne merely steps away.

“Allfather, we must speak with you.” Raising their heads, they stop short of respect upon the sight of the God of Mischief himself, seated too comfortably in his father’s place with his unmistakable horned headdress.

“What is this?” Volstagg asked Loki's smirk darkened.

“My friends... You have not heard? I am now ruler of Asgard.”

“Where is Odin?” Fandral asked stepping forward.

“Father has fallen into Odinsleep. My mother fears he may never awaken again.” He grasped Gungir tighter when speaking of his father. Or so he had learned only moments ago.

“We would speak with her.” Sif spoke up.

“She has refused to leave my father’s bedside. You can bring your ‘urgent' matter to me, Your King.” Sif stepped forth, the warriors three standing guard behind her.

“We would ask you to end Thor’s banishment.”

“The first command can not be to undo the Allfather’s last. We’re on the brink of the Jotunheim once more. The prophecies the people of Asgard have awaited are coming swiftly. The arrival of Kára and her army is dawning upon us. Our people must have a sense of continuity in order to feel safe in these difficult times.”

“You cannot honestly think that it’s true about Kára the Guardian of the Fallen. She has been exiled for years and there has been no sign of her return.” Fandral said still not believing what was spoke of earlier with reading time at the palaces nursery.

“Until now. All of us must stand together, for the good of Asgard.”

“Of course.” Sif and the warriors three bow their heads once more before leaving. In Loki’s mind, he knows what and who he saw in the gardens. She is to return.

“This is far from over.” He growled, his grip tightening around Gungir so much that his knuckles gleamed with the white patches of bone underneath his skin.

*******

**Midgard, Manhattan**  
**City Morgue**

“Following the death of mister Beck, it may have taken us some weeks to research and understand our findings but we finally came to a conclusion after mister Beck's autopsy and there were no signs of anything that would signify a sudden attack to his system.” An elderly man, shocking blue eyes held in deep sockets that darkened his aging look, his short silver hair shone under the lights of the long, dull grey corridor, he wore the classic long white doctors coat and uniform. In tow beside him was a woman in dressed like an everyday simpleton, brown leather jacket, black shirt, jeans that touched her curves and a pair of boots, yet her dark red hair was something that could be noticed from a mile away or a figment to be remembered.

“But?” She questioned, both of their soles clicking the cemented flooring as they grew closer to the designated room. “Come on, doctor Davis, I’m a big girl. I’m far from squeamish.”

“I supposed you wouldn’t be, Agent.” He sighed. They came to stand in front of the door, Davis collected the key from his coat pocket.

“What is it?” She asked as they stepped into the dull room, colour and smell. Somehow there wasn’t the scent of lingering death or the odour of opened bodies and rotting flesh. Agent Romanoff had been holding her breath just in case but was strangely a little surprised. She watched as he walked to a large file cabinet-like wall, unlocking a door at his hip and reeled out a metal table with a lumpy white sheet. That’s when the smell swarmed her nostrils and she had to stuff her nose into her sleeve. Davis lifted the white sheet and folded it back to reveal a man’s pale body. “An autopsy well done, doc. Not a mark on his body.”

“I didn’t need anymore information than when I saw the footage of what happened in the interrogation room.”

“I saw it too and read the report. But how does it all measure up to the snapping behaviour? Was he on drugs or...” The doctor shook his head.

“Nothing to do with drugs or narcotics. It was all in his mind.” Romanoff’s eyes followed the doctors finger that showed the trail of black stitching from Beck's forehead in a long line to the nape of his neck. “Just as accurate as a cat scan but only a bit more bloodied precision.”

“I can see that.” Romanoff replied, her eyes latched to the long scar.

“He had no records of anything wrong in his brain but... once I reached here,” his chubby index finger, small grey hairs spouting at the knuckles, “we found something... unusual.”

“Unusual?”

“He was missing the frontal lobe of his brain.” Romanoff scrunched up her eyebrows and folded her arms, getting used to the mild stench.

“What like a frontal lobotomy?” Davis nodded.

“Exactly. The strange thing is there was no record of insanity or operations of a lobotomy or anything wrong with his brain function before in his history. Something did happen to his head. Something got a hold of it. But there’s no segments of anything that could give a clear sign of an attack. Apart from the work that I have done, there was no bruising or microscopic materials to say what it was that got him and caused his sudden death.

“Is it possible that it could have been a person? He had a break in and he was held under interrogation from the person that broke in.”

“Then they must not be human. No skin cells. No blood. No fingerprints.”

“No fingerprints.” Romanoff said softly to herself. Something ticking off in her mind. No digital or literal fingerprint.

“Whatever happened to this man ... it was impossible or very cleverly done. But whatever it is that they did, it dissolved this part of the brain and fast.” His footsteps carried him to a desk as he continued to talk but Romanoff only carried one thing from it all.

_Not human._

*******

**Puente Antiguo, Mexico**

  
_Brrrrr. Brrrrrr. Brrrrrr. Brrrrrrr._

A quick flood of oxygen hawked up my nose as I shot out of my sleep that I didn’t know I was in and dig around for my phone in a blurry daze. From the corner of my eye I see the librarian lady glance over at me after I’d snorted myself awake.

Clicking the green phone button, I answer the call without checking the caller I.D..

“Hello?” And an all too familiar voice told me a quick story of someone taking something they shouldn’t. “Jane slow down. Who did what?”

 _ **“I’m not entirely sure who they are. I’ve never heard of them but.. they’ve taken everything and this is all after that storm.”**_ I have no idea what the heck I’m doing or even thinking but it’s something to do until I can figure out what I’m going to do I guess.

“Where are you?” I stand and rush over to the reception desk to grab a pen, squashing my phone in between my ear and my lifted shoulder, I write down on the back of my hand the details before handing back the pen to the frail little lady behind the counter. “I’m on my way.” I hang up. “Thanks.” I say to the lady then turning back to grab my things, with a bit of trouble from the charger wire loving the corner of the table, I tug at it to release it then leave to get back into my truck.

  
“So, where is this place again?”

“Just another eight miles. Turn right here and carry on.” Jane says as she checks the map to how far we’ve got left and if there were any short cuts. I do as she tells me.

“It was very kind for to come back for me. I seemed to be getting nowhere with that man.” Thor spoke, NOT sitting back in the back passenger seat.

“Thor, you won’t find a horse in a pet store or even miles from here.” Jane says with a pen in her mouth at the end as she crumpled the map around. “Iris, thank you for this. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“No problem. I was wondering where I was going to go next anyway.”

“Look, I didn’t want things to get in the way of what could be a perfect opportunity for you to really work your skills and your knowledge.” The leather seating creaking behind us.

“I hope I’m not the cause of any disturbances ladies. If so, I’m sorry.” Thor spoke gently. He was so sweet.

“No Thor, it’s alright.” I say, keeping my eyes on the sand and dirt trying not to land in a ditch. _This is far from over._ The voice growled in my mind. Who is that? Where has my other voice gone? That’s even more worrying if I even want a voice in my head.

"Great!" A bit too proud.

“Things will work out fine once we’ve found your meow-meow or whatever.”

“Mjolnir.”

“Right. Is that what they’re calling it now—”

“God! Why am I so nervous? Have you done anything like this before?” Even if I had I wouldn’t be saying anything.

“Like what? Stealing my stuff back from a heavily guarded government base and have no idea who they are or what power they have over us or what they could do to us when we get there?" I say in one breath. “Nope.” Popping the ‘p'.

“You’re funny, Lady Iris.” Thor smacks his heavy man hand down onto my shoulder.

“Thanks.”

“Thor? Have you done anything like this before?” Jane asks laying the map on the dashboard.

“Many times. You’re brave to do it.”

“They just stole my entire life’s work—turn left up here. I don’t really have anything left to lose.”

“But you’re a clever woman. You both are. Far more clever than anyone else in this realm.” I could seriously feel my cheeks burning. But how does he know how clever I am ? I haven’t done anything.

“This realm?” Jane asks what I was thinking.

“You’re serious about this cosplay thing aren’t you?” I practically say to myself.

“You think me strange?”

“You can say that again.” 

“Yeah. Just a little.” Jane turns back to the map but we share a small smile as I focus on the road.

“Good strange or a bad strange?” Thor asks, threw the rear-view mirror I see him lifting the flap of my shoulder/travel bag.

“Bad if you look any further.” He noticed my tone and raised his hands in defeat but smiling. “Cheeky.”

“I’m not quite sure.” Jane turns her head to look around at him. Woah. The electricity in this car! Woah! And I’m not talking about my dangerous side. “Who are you... really?”

“You'll see soon enough.” I looked at him in the rear-view. What? I know I’ve heard that before ...but it was in my dream. I felt my eyebrows scrunch in confusion.

“You promised me answers.” Jane asked turning half her body to face Thor.

“What you seek... it’s a bridge.”

“A bridge? Like an Einstein-Rosen bridge?”

“More like a rainbow bridge.”  
Yep. Definitely strange.

*******

**Midgard, Manhattan**  
**City Morgue**

The dark and cold room, empty of living forms filled with an unknown presence. Behind one of the small metal doors, locked in the cabinet was the body of Andrew Beck.  
Unknown to the outside world, they weren’t to know of their findings until the next morning when Ms Martha Mable was to know the face of the man who worked with her son before they were both found.

Beneath the thin white sheet, the cold body was gradually getting warmer from small interior electrodes collaborating with the white blood cells in the system.

A small spark streamed from the solid cold fingertip causing it to twitch and with that twitch, a deep breath was taken in, filling the unused and dying lungs. Altogether with eyes wide open.

 

 

 


	14. The Ravens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Run..." that's all I've ever done. "Hide..." all I've ever known. "....and don't ever look back to the past." All I've fought not to do.
> 
> 'Hugin and Munin  
> Fly every day  
> Over all the world;  
> I worry for Hugin  
> That he might not return,  
> But I worry more for Munin.' 
> 
> Poem of Odin's Ravens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to Comment & Kudos if you like this story so far. 
> 
> With writing this story I'm literally winging it as my laptop completely died so I'm writing this chapter to chapter on my phone. So I hope you like it. Yes it's going so far back as the second Iron Man movie. I've noticed that Netflix has added a couple of Marvel movies but there's still a few movies missing. 
> 
> NemO3991 x

_White clouds blur my vision. A numbing high pitched white noise fills my ears and head. My whole body is numb. I can’t think of anything in particular as the feeling in my chest is the same sinking feeling as if I were free falling. I try to catch my breath, it only comes in a long breadth when my toes touch something silken feathery and cool. When the rest of my foot palms this silk fray that tickles each toe, I come to recognise it. Grass. The singular strands stroke between my toes as I aimlessly walk._

_The sudden sound of rumbling coming from above my head, glancing up to the pale blue sky, the clouds remain puffy and cotton-like and the rumbling seems to get closer, more hollow. I close my eyes and take in the fresh open air._

_A glitching vision of a raven in flight the moment my eyes close. Once opened, the raven disappears and before me, on the edge of a cliff, watching the waves clash back and forth with another as the wind kneads the water, the fresh smell of sea salt wafting from the splatters merely thirty or so feet below, stood the silhouette or a figure of a person they were dressed all in black. Their black hair, as black as the ravens wings, touched their shoulders but was blown back as the wind began to pick up as I moved closer with my hand stretched out to try and touch them._

*******

Black clouds crawl across the skies, a rumbling and sparks of lightning intimidate as the teardrops of mother nature flood the mortal grounds.

*******

The body of a man, pale, sickly... the frame of naked death finds his stability as he walks barefoot through mud, grit and sand on a one track mind to find her.

*******

**Malibu, California**

“God! Will you take a look at those clouds?” Pepper Potts exclaims glancing up at the sky, dark looming clouds swamping the once beautiful blue, two large black birds followed the direction of the darkness to Tony packing bags into the back of his car or placing one light bag onto the back as Happy Hogan lifted and shifted the rest of them into the boot. “Are you sure it’s going to be alright on the plane? Can’t you wait to get to New York another time?”

“I’m sure it’s just a short, sharp shower. Don’t worry about it.” Tony replied abruptly as he tossed the house keys to Pepper to lock up.

“Come on or we're gonna be late.” Pepper scrunched up her brows and nose in confusion over Tony actually wanting to get somewhere on time. She shared a look with Happy, they shrugged it off before she locked the front door and hopped into the car next to Tony. As they drove away Pepper couldn’t help but notice Tony’s right leg jiggling up and down. She placed her hand firmly on his knee. “Tony?” He turned away from the window, she couldn’t read his eyes from behind the ray bans he wore to protect his tired eyes from the gleaming Cali sunshine.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah.” He smiled, wrinkles on either side.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Pepper shrugged taking her hand away.

“You’ve seemed ...I don’t know, a bit off since you came back from your talk with Fury. Did something happen?” Tony felt a pang in his chest, his smile faulting. He wanted to say...  
“Nothing important. Just a review on whatever I can’t remember but I’m good—great even! I can’t wait to start this project.” But he didn’t.

“Well let’s just hope this storm goes away before you start anything. Don’t want you getting struck by lightning.” They drove to the airport in silence, although every now and then Pepper would say something to Happy, but all the while Tony sat staring out the window. Thoughts of the woman with the shocking but beautiful brown eyes and his father.

Does he really remember her? Or is it just a part of a memory that he’s wanted to forget? His mind racing through various situations where she could have been involved months or even years before his parents death...nothing.

The rest of the journey, the rain and the storm slowed and trailed Eastward so it was a decent time to start up the private jet. As Tony went first up the steps to the door of the jet, stuffing his hands into his pockets, in his left hand pocket his fingers traced the smooth cover of the polaroid photograph.  
As the jet took off and everyone was doing their own thing, mainly Happy sleeping, Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out the photograph as he raised his sunglasses on to his head.

He had lost count of the amount of times he had pondered over this photograph alone in the past few weeks since he found it.

“What’s that?” The voice asked making him jump out of his skin. Hand to his chest he turned his head to see Pepper kneeling next to his seat. “Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you jump.” She said placing a loving hand on his arm as he waved her off. She took the seat across from him. “Are you sure you’re alright, Tony. You haven’t spoken since we got in the car.”

“Yeah.” He replied shortly, massaging his head with his free hand as the other put the photograph back into his pocket, although not before Pepper put her hand out for it.

“What is that?” She asked him as of he were a child with something he shouldn’t. Slumping his shoulders he slipped the photograph into his pocket. “Tony.”

“What? It’s private. Can’t I have something that’s private?”

“You’ve been ‘private' for weeks, Tony. You hardly come out of your work shop ... and when you do its to grab a pillow and a blanket from the living room because you would rather spend time staying awake for ungodly hours into the morning, working on projects that aren’t coming to light or their not finished.” She crossed her legs and arms as she glared at his blank expression. “Is it because we're together? Is that it?”

“No. Pepper it’s—i...” He sighed deeply then leaned forward so his elbows rested on his thighs. “Its not because of that. Don’t be ridiculous—”

“Then what is it?”

“I told you. It’s private—”

“Then you give me no choice but to think otherwise.”

“What are you talk—”

“Are you still obsessing over that person that sent you the medicine?” Tony stayed quiet not meaning to answer Peppers question with the hesitation. “Its been weeks just over a month. What good is it doing you trying to find someone that doesn’t exist?”

“What? They do exist! Who else would send the antidote which, f.y.i., was broken down from a poison and into a diluted antidote which I’m almost finished with.” Pepper shook her head. “That Andrew guy wanted to use it against me to kill me, Pepper. So sorry if I just want to say thank you to this anonymous person for helping me without wanting anything in return.”

“But it’s no good obsessing over it.”

“I’m not, okay?”

“What does the date ‘August 21st 1991’ mean to you? It was written on the back of the polaroid.”

“I don’t want to talk about this right now.” He crossed one leg over the other closing off his body language finding Happy's gurgling snoring face gross but it was better than the tampering Pepper was doing.

“Why no—”

“Because it’s to do with my dad, okay?” Pepper listened carefully knowing whatever Tony said rarely about his father was serious or harsh sarcasm. So the moment he mentioned ‘thou who shall not be named’, she wanted to know what making Tony itch as he was usually quite submissive. “I found a polaroid picture in your office in a box of trinkets of my dad standing next to a lady who I think I know or knew, whatever.”

“What has this got to do with anything?”

“A lot by any means.” Tony shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. He hadn’t talked to anyone about this. He had tried to but maybe it was unhealthy to have two different obsessions at the same time with no resolve. “I think my dad was having an affair before he died. Happy?”

“What?” Happy asked, shocking himself awake.

“Its alright Happy. Go back to sleep.”

“I can’t when you two are raising your voices.” Tony leaned over to tug the sleeping eye covers back over Happy’s eyes with a bump on the nose. “Yeah that works.” He mutters sarcastically.

“JARVIS? What’s Tony’s productive search history been like for the past...” She kept her eyes glued to Tony as he kicked a now snoring Happy before looking back at her. “How long should we say?”

“Pepper.” He said in a warning tone.

“Six weeks.” They waited for the charming voice to come through.

“Six weeks?”

“Yes. Because that’s how long we’ve been together and that’s how long you’ve still been grinding over a person who wants to stay anonymous.”

“I have not been grinding. What does that even mean?”

“I’m going to the bathroom. Your making my bladder nervous.” Happy interrupts and stands making his way to the closest toilet.

“Mind telling me what you meant by grinding? It’s sounds raunchy.” Pepper fiddled with her watch.

“Mister Starks search history was required to be cleared earlier this morning Miss Potts.” Pepper threw Tony a death glare.

“What? I want a clean slate.”

“A clean slate? How clean is that search history, really? Jarvis,” She started again.

“What are you—”

“Are there any searches for people? Anyone in particular?”

“Jesus Christ.”

“You know, if there was a Christian sitting in this plane they wouldn’t like how you blaspheme.”

“We’ll it’s good that there isn’t any.” They sat in silence when Jarvis spoke again.

“There has been a search for a ‘Linsen' but could not find anyone in particular as no first names seemed to come of any recognition.” Tony, now with head in his hands, Pepper tapped her foot firmly in a beat as she glared at his head.

                                     *******

_Reaching my hand closer to the person’s shoulder, everything was so quiet around us. Even the waves below crashed with no sound. The breeze whipping past my ears made no sound although it was starting to feel like it could push me over at any given moment._

_Their aura was cold and it was getting colder and colder as my fingertips grazed their clothing._

_"Don't." They spoke sharply. The voice deep, smooth and familiar. "If you come any closer then I won't be able to show you."_

_"Show me what?" I ask, my voice resistant in my throat as if I was afraid to speak aloud. Before I could say anything more they turned around to face me. It was that man again with those piercing green eyes. "Who are you?" I sighed deeply. I only really saw him the last time when I was dreaming. So that means I'm dreaming now._

_"Yes you are." He answered, holding his hands behind his back._

_"Huh?"_

_"You're dreaming. I noticed you falling asleep in whatever that contraption is you were seated in."_

_"A car? I'm asleep in the car--Wait. I'm asleep in the car while Jane and Thor are getting their stuff? Well, choose me for a quick getaway driver if I can't even keep my eyes open." I come to stand beside him, although with some space between us so I didn't touch him, watching the silent yet graceful movement of the ocean._

_"You really want to know who I am?" His voice giving me those goose pimples again._

_"Yes. I gave you my name, you never gave yours in return." He smirked turning his eyes in the same direction as my attention._

_"Fine. But only if you tell me who you really are." I whipped my head to face him._

_"What? I've already--What makes you think that I'm not who I say I am?" His eyes stare down at me, he held my gaze so that I was completely under his control. "You said you were going to show me something." He sighed before he went to grab my hand but I pulled it away. "Hey! Your going against your own rules."_

_"Be quiet and take rest your palm on mine."_

_"Why? What are you going to do?" I still gripped my wrist holding my hand to my chest._

_"Just..." He clenched his eyes shut and put his hand out as a choice rather than a force. "If you don't remember who you are...im going to have to show you. Jog your fading memory." I blew him a small raspberry and he rolled his eyes at me. I gradually put my hand down to his, palm to palm. When our skin came into contact I flinched at how freezing his hands were._

_"How are your hands this cold?" I asked dealing with the blend of cold against my warmth, my hand naturally heating up to fight off the cold._

_"You need to be quiet." He said sharply. I nodded biting my lip. I watched as he took in a deep breath and my vision suddenly changed to a warm gold grand hall. The room so huge you could put more than a dozen elephants, a circus, all of the World War planes to ever exist, the statue of liberty and a battle ship in here and it would still have more than enough room to walk or dance around. "Follow me." The man gripped my hand as we walked further across the room. He was walking way too fast for my liking._

_"Can't you slow down? My legs aren't as long as yours." He stopped and turned to me._

_"And I told you to be quiet!" He growled, his face close to mine. "In order to show you, we have to go through a memory."_

_"But why do we have to be quiet?"_

_"We don't have to be quiet, just you. You talk too much and I need to hold my concentration. Now come on." It didn't take long, well it would have taken a long ass time if he's let me look around. This place is glorious! "Its just through here." He turned to me again once he's opened the huge golden door. He motioned for me to go in with a nod of his head. As I walked in I stopped. My breathing stopped. My heart in my mouth. Everything in me stopped doing anything just in case I did something to disturb it. I watched a woman, warm coloured skin like mine, long braided hair, she wore shining armour and clothing similar to the man's clothing from the dream before but hers was dark blue while his was green._

_"What is she doing?" I asked in my head knowing he could hear me._

_"Just watch. Maybe it will be a reminder of who you once were." His voice swathed into my ear. I continued to watch her but I didn't understand what the heck he meant by what he said._

_"What do you mean 'a reminder'?" I kept my eyes on her, she raised her hands with a sharp object pointed downwards to what she had her eyes on. Hold up. "Who's the person in the bed?" My voice trembling at what I was witnessing. This was a memory? My memory?_

_"My mother and the man I once called father." I went to stop her even if it wouldn't do any good seeing as the man was still gripping my hand to keep me from walking too far. "She wants to kill him." He tugged me to one side as heavily armoured rushed in as her dagger flew against the wall. They pushed her to the floor as his father and mother were now wide awake and on the other side of the bed, the elderly man with an eye patch barked orders as one of the soldiers held the woman by her hair and holding the end of his spear to her neck, waiting for the orders. The woman, his mother, spoke to her husband and he gave her a look before he waved a hand, the only word I caught him saying was 'dungeon'. "Remember anything?" I couldn't move as the guards forced the woman to stand, her dark hollow eyes glaring at the elderly man before her eyes focused to the path infront of her._

_My heart stopped beating completely when I saw what she looked like._

_"Mom?" My voice catching, it coming out as a whisper. I didn't realise that he had let go of my hand and the memory was gone and we were back to the cliff side until I was crouched on my knees, clutching my chest from how the cold was irritating my veins. I was struggling to breath._

_"It will wear off."_

_"What was that?"_

_"You really have lost memory havent you? I dont believe Odin ever wanted to harm your mind when he exiled you from Asgard. And if must remind you, I am of Jotun blood. You would know," he knelt down to my level. "You helped my father to take me away."_

_"I don't know what you're talking about." A strong hand gripped my chin and pulled my face to look at him. He was sparking mad._

_"Yes you do! You're a liar and a traitor to my family." He squeezed harder as I had to raise my body to be level with his._

_"You're hurting me." I clawed at his arm in an attempt to get him off of me._

_"Good. At least you're still feeling," his words seething venom._

"Iris!"  _A voice broke the tension slightly between me and him. I focused on him as he had a look of confusion as he heard it too._ "Iris!"  _I dig my nails into the skin of his arm._

_"Tell me who you are?"_

_"I thought you would be able to remember me ... Kára." I struggled against his grip until I smacked him across his smug face. I know its a dream but it felt so real._

_"Why did you call me that?"_

_"I'm surprised my brother has resisted to keep you by his side after what you tried to his father." Thor? Thor was his brother? But wouldn't that make him...a God? And that would mean that this guy is..._

_"Loki." He stood up, standing over me. "How is this possible? Gods aren't.... ya know," Loki raised an eyebrow, "I grew up in a Christian household and I know for certain that God is not a walking, talking, cold blooded being walking so freely. God is in spirit. He's in our hearts and our souls--" Loki spread his arms out in a 'take a look at me' fashion. "But... you're a Nordic God."_

_"I'd rather not get into all of the historical nonsense mortals come up with to favour us."_

_"But ... you're Loki. Apparently. God of Mischief and Lies? Isn't that what you like? People to praise you?" His smirk was evil._

_"Don't you ever stop talking?"_

_"I could but I'm far too curious."_

"Iris!"  _The voice called from behind me. It was getting closer._

_"Jane?" A sudden shock at my wrist made me yelp. "What the heck?"_

_"You were branded. Nobody in all of the nine realms could ever forget the day they are branded with such a potent symbol of regret." I glanced down at my wrist. Where did that tattoo come from? "My brother has but noticed it but hasn't said anything. I'm guessing he doesn't want to make a big scene for your arrival back to Asgard." I am utterly confused at what he saying. "You have grown immune to a certain mortal charm, making my brother fall under your praise. He was always a fool to trust you."_

_"Trust me? He hasn't known me a full day."_

_"Precisely. But you're using your newly awarded serpent tongue to adjust him to your side."_

_"What? Whoever you think I am, you're wrong."_

_"I couldn't be more right about the writing in the prophecy, Kára."_

_"And another thing, why do you keep calling me that? I've never told you my middle name."_

_"I beg your pardon?" I got up to stand infront of him the white noise filling my ears and head again._

_"You keep calling me by my middle name which I've never told you. It's the same as my mom's." Out of nowhere he started to fade away. "No. No. No, no, no!"_

"Iris! Wake up! We have to get going. They have Thor. We got to get out of here!" Jane jumped into the passenger seat. My mind came back to reality. Where? S.H.I.E.L.D. base. New Mexico. "Iris!" Jane was starting to panic, my body went into autopilot, starting up the car and driving away.

My hands holding the steering wheel, I couldn't help but feel that tingle from my dream. A shot of adrenaline made me want to get away from the base quicker as I saw the serpent bracelet tattoo that curled around my wrist that I thought I covered up with another tattoo but it's bold black outline stood out like barbed wire on a white wall. 

 _"This is far from over."_ Goose pimples erupted on my naked arms, the little hairs standing up at the familiar cold breeze coming from my open window where I could the screeching of black birds flying beside the car.

 


	15. Where Is My Mind? Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story has changed so much since I started the plot of it. Its twisting and changing every time I go to write a chapter so I do hope you enjoy.
> 
> If you have any questions about this character don't ve afraid to message me.
> 
> Don't forget to kudos and comment x
> 
> NemO3991 x

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Ooh, stop  
> With your feet in the air and your head on the ground  
> Try this trick and spin it, yeah  
> Your head will collapse  
> But there's nothing in it  
> And you'll ask yourself
> 
> Where is my mind?  
> Where is my mind....'
> 
> Pixies - Where Is My Mind?

**11:27:01 pm**

I must be out of my mind! I can literally hear babushka in my head preaching of the Lord and his blessings... but is this situation I’ve invested myself in really a blessing? Or is it just a stepping stone to something better or worse? But what? Are my powers supposed to be a blessing? How did it come down to this? Other than that I'm also contemplating whether or not to believe this guy that comes along, apparently the son of a Norse God and is one himself, its just really hard to believe that he’s the real deal. Mind you, I have only just come along into their lives and I’m supposed to be good at what I do with mechanics and engineering and whatnot but there are times when I do forget how to do certain things before I realise that I actually know a lot more than an average human, I suppose, would know. Which is practically anything and everything.

What does that make me?

But is what I have a gift? Let’s see. I’ve been travelling on my own since I was thirteen. Being kidnapped by a HYDRA agent tin man doesn’t count. My mum pushed me away when I was thirteen. I haven’t seen my grandparents since the night of my fourteenth birthday as I felt like burden. I can’t say anything about my father because as far as I’m concerned, I don’t have one. I’ve never known who he is and I don’t want to know, at least not now. I was kicked out of school before I could even graduate because of how ill I had become. Can’t blame them really.

I’m remembering something from my childhood. Something rare. I don’t think I have even thought about it until now. I was six years old, I had worn my favourite peach coloured velvet dress, a felt hand-made sunflower on my alice band that my friend at school had given me for my birthday that week. I can’t even remember what day that’s on. I know the year but the rest isn’t even a fragment in my mind. I stumble on my own little clumsy feet while my mom grips my little hand in her own as we would step into the church. The sun shining through the glazed windows. The sun’s rays gleaming down onto the laminated flooring of the church from the top of Mary's crown that I so wanted to touch and just put it in my pocket because it felt so warm that I wanted to keep some of home with me always. I would tug my ma’s hand to get to the closest seat to the platform where the priest would greet me with a kind closed mouth smile as he clutched the bible.

My favourite story that I can remember was the folklore tale of Jesus disguised as an elderly beggar and just how easy it was to fool others.

‘Christ who begs for the heart of man, and the heart of man beggar of Christ.’

I’m trying to keep myself awake. I dont want to sleep. Every time i go to drift into dream land, I see sharp green eyes that I know mock me. He pressures me to answer questions that I have no idea what hes talking about.

I've tried pinching the skin of my hand doesn’t seem to work. I tried pinching at my arms, my stomach, even my ear lobe at one point but I’m just rating myself as plain restless, sleep deprived and vulnerable to my nightmares. Staying awake for so long is so challenging especially when my the rest of my body is slumped to sleep but my mind is wide awake. The most difficult thing is keeping my eyes open and trying not to wriggle around so much as Darcy had fallen asleep on more of the single beds, I paid for us to stay at the cheap motel just down stream from where Jane's workplace was, Jane is at her trailer working on what to do without her things.

Erik had left a couple of hours ago now, I’m in the living room trying to fix up a piece of wired jewellery , powered up by the most microscopic chip I’ve ever seen. Its rusted that my sleep deprived mind doesn’t want to comprehend with even wanting to continue on, as if there’s a mind block, a tall steel wall that I can’t get passed.

I had lost the other ear stud at the hotel. How ridiculous am I? I have to find that funny because I can’t even remember where I got them from. To leave half of my mechanical best friend out there and half of her soul is probably in the trash by now.

Erik had gone out a little while ago to get Thor from the clutches of the base held by an association called ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’. Weird name. I think I’ve heard it before though.

Earlier, I had helped come up with the false identity of 'Donald Blake' for Thor to have just to get him out. I wonder what his real name is because he’s doing a good job at staying put with this whole ‘Norse God’ business. I’ve never known such a buff dude to be such a nerd. He must be truly enthralled with Viking history to stick with it. Talking about Mjolnir, a ‘rainbow bridge’, his father Odin and his ravens.

“He would call upon them in great need. You may be confused by what their names mean Lady Iris, but I can assure you that thought and memory although not the same thing, they usually clash but there are times when they are great companions.”

He knows his stuff I can tell you that. Maybe a historian?

                                      *******

                          **New York City**

**11:27:02 pm**

Seated on the leather L-shape couch was a wide awake Tony Stark, sipping on his glass of brandy as he stares out of his condo living room window on the twenty-third floor of the thirty story complex, out into the night, a black coat lay upon the still lively city below. The city that never sleeps. Neither could Tony. He had grown restless trying to get some shut eye but his mind raced with events from the past few weeks to the past beyond that, faces of his old friends coming up in his mind like earth worms rising from the soil. One face in particular he had wanted to forget ever since he met her all those years ago. Using the worm metaphor, the old friends were getting picked up and eaten by hungry birds, they could be easily forgotten...but her... no bird would touch her as she was a delicacy.

Shiana.

That was her name. He couldn’t remember her last name though. It was difficult to remember, began with an ‘M'?

She was a walking talking goddess. She had been way out of his league but his feelings couldn’t be stopped. She had been engaged to his best friend and yet she enchanted everybody.

Tony deeply sighed as he stood to walk over to the window in a blurry haze as he just could not get her face out of his head. He felt like he did when he was in his twenties and was living a high life that came crashing down when he became heavily distracted by her. Even if he was with Pepper now, he desperately needed a bird to swoop down and scoop Shiana up to erase her.

He couldn’t. He could think it. It was easier said than done.

But he just couldn’t do it.

Tony was taken away from his thoughts when he heard distant screaming. 

                                     *******

**11:28:04 pm**

A pale naked man stumbled towards the start of the bridge, cars coming to a halt or skating past him once they saw the sparks protruding from his body. A truck eased to a sliding stop but it wasn’t enough whilst almost hitting the naked man, he raised his hands and a bolt of bright voltage attacked the bonnet and flipped the truck, it flew backwards into the air before landing on its side on top of a herd of cars a few metres away causing an explosion.

Screaming in fear, men and women and their children ran from their vehicles and away from the man striding their way.

“Hey, Sparky! You might wanna put some clothes on.” The pale man turns around when a voice could be heard from behind him. Glancing upwards at a flying metal man.

“You're not gonna make many friends walking around...well, like that. Don’t get me wrong, if it’s your thing. You do what you gotta—” a bolt of electricity was thrown at him causing slight damage to the left side of his suit. “Woah! Okay.” Tony blasts a number of his own but is caught by the naked man.

“Jarvis, hit him with the rhythm sticks.” In a split second, two missiles shot out of his shoulder plates and hit the man causing him to fly backwards into the side of a car, crumpling around him and sliding on its side at the impact. Tony lands in front of him as he tears himself from the metal clutches. His wounds prominent and jagged as he shoots another blast at him to distract Tony from the car being hurdled at him. “Woah!” Tony blows up the car and instantly regrets it. “I’ll pay for that whoever’s car that was!”

“My car!” a man’s voice comes the side lines. Tony shoots him a look that he obviously can’t see.

“Yeah, yeah. Keep your cool. I’ll pay for it.” Tony says at the same time as he shoots a heavy blast at the naked man who reacts as if he was only punched, regenerating the power of the shot, stretching out his arms with a pained yell as the sparks visibly grew stronger. “God dammit.” 

_They caught me watching. I had only just managed to unlock the combination keypad lock on my door and broke it with my powers. It hurt so much to do it but I knew that I had to try something to get out of here. They shout words at me that I don’t understand. Carried me into the room... to the same chair as him. I tried to pull myself out of their grip as they tugged me closer to the chair where they had just hurt his head. They strap me down tightly so that I could barely move anything even my head to just watch them._

_The man that I could only understand that they called ‘general’ or ‘Strucker', moved to stand infront of me, my heart beating in my ears that I couldn’t hear what he was saying to me. My senses heightened as I heard the pushing of buttons and turning of dials ... and the slight surges of electricity through the wires above me that lay on the chair. I could already feel it in my chest. As they attached more things to me and wrapped what felt like a leather belt around my head and pulled me so my head was held tight against the head board as one of them placed a dark red rubber plate into my mouth._

_They spoke more words that I couldn’t understand. I strained my eyes to look at the limp metal armed man at the side._

_Why did they want to hurt him? Why do they want to hurt me? I hold my breath._

_I heard a sudden phrase before strong electric vaults burst through my head and throughout my body._

                                       *******

**11:36:05 pm**

Another crash into the road, leaving opened ground like a meteor hit as Tony struggled to keep the naked man under control, wrestling him all while trying not to get his suit malfunctioned with the strength of the electricity coming off of him. He finally managed to shove him into a collapsed beam from earlier, twisting and burning wires around the naked man’s body, wrists and ankles.

“Are you going to behave?” Tony stared at him for a second. “You look like someone I’ve seen before...” He got a bit closer as the naked man struggles against the wires. “Oh, right yeah. Passion of Christ. That’s it. I almost lost it.” Tony drags the beam to the edge before flying upwards and dropped the beam into the calm river below, it makes a huge splash that washes over onto a boat party passing by. They scream before they notice who it is and chant his name.

“I won’t be sleeping anytime soon. Might as well make the most of it.” The police and firemen were dealing with the traffic and mess on the bridge.

                                      *******  
 **New Mexico**

**11:36:06 pm**

A girl wearing a black hood stalks into a stale quiet 24/7 store. The elderly olive skinned man behind the counter gives her a smile as she enters which quickly faltered once he saw her eyes were purely white. No colour. No pupils. A simple glowing white they watch each other as she silently wonders about until a drunk man stumbled in.

“Hey Rodrigo. How Betty?” The men shake hands but the tension has been passed on. “Rodney what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” The drunk man, Hank, follows Rodrigo's line of sight to a hooded girl in the wine selection. “She perusing the finest wines.” He giggled to himself. “The best a girl could get.”

“She has no color.” Rod finally speaks taking his eyes away.

“What are you talking ‘bout Rodney?” They watch as the girl walks out with the bottle of spirit.

“Hey! Hey! You got to pay for that!” Both men chase the hooded girl out of the shop stopping instantly when she chucks the bottle of spirit at Hank's Volvo truck.

“Hey! That’s my car! You better pay to fix that—” She electrocutes where the high volume spirit is dripping from the bonnet causing it to burst into flames, both men leap for cover in the store as the girl with white eyes walks back into the darkness as two drunk men stumbled down the road singing a merry old song.

                                    *******

_The voltage that was running through my body grew warm the longer they held down the lever. I couldn’t open my mouth to scream any louder. The non stop buzzing runs straight through my head but I’m not burning or anything. I’m .... absorbing. My body is urging with adrenaline, wanting more._

_My eyes are doing something different. What are they doing?_

_It’s like they’re sliding inside out or I’m vertically blinking like a reptile. Its strange but that’s not what’s hurting the most. My eyes might not be burning but my hands and feet are. Opening my eyes I look down to see from the very tips of my fingers to just below my elbow is covered in black. I can’t look down at my feet but I’m pretty sure they’re like that too._

_I raise my eyes from myself upwards to straight ahead._

_A few feet from me is Strucker. I’ve never seen his smile grow slower. “Enough.” The pain stops._

  
_7_

_6_

_5_

_4_

3

2 .....

  
Screams of ravens fill my ears waking me in a cold sweat.

 


	16. Where Is My Mind? Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Where is my mind?  
> Where is my mind?  
> Where is my mind?  
> Way out in the water...  
> See it swimmin'...'
> 
> The Pixies - Where Is My Mind?

_**“Investigations of the murder of Jacob Mable have been put on hold as detectives and the police and forensics team have failed to find any further evidence to conclude this brutal attack. Today Ms Hannah Mable will be holding a private funeral---"** _

**_“Today marks five years since the disappearance of Katherine Malakhov--"_ **

**_“Electrical storms that swayed from just off the shores of California beach all the way over to New York City, local scientists are calling this storm ‘The Crawler’ as the hardly caused any damage to civilisation below the clouds but they are also informing us that people of America should be aware of anymore of these storms as they are unpredictable.”_ **

_**“Iron Man saved the night last night. At around 11:30pm a strange appearance from a naked man who had inhumane electrical lightening-like supernatural powers--** _

“Hey! You ready to go?” Darcy’s voice interrupted the commotion of multiple radio signals I could hear. “Iris?”

“Hey, yeah,” I give her a smile, trying to shake away the tiredness that was washing over me, “let’s get going.” Putting on my flannel shirt over my tank top before grabbing my bag.

“You alright?” She asked as we left the motel room. I nodded, letting out an uncontrollably long yawn. “Woah, Sleepy. You didn’t get much rest last night, huh?” She asked as she packed the last of her things.

“You can say that again.” Playing with my ear stud. Everything was back to normal. I just needed to upgrade some stuff on Anji as she’s only a one man band now and I only had one spare microscopic chip left, so the singular stud has to take in everything that I have in me. Hopefully it’s enough. “Where we off to?”

“Jane just texted me saying that we could meet up for breakfast at her trailer. Apparently Erik honked out on her bed last night.” Darcy spoke not looking up from her phone as she typed away.

“What happened to him?” Darcy chuckled putting her phone into her pocket.

“Him and Thor got hammered last night.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. I heels the door for her as we left the motel building and started the walk tot Jane’s trailer which apparently wouldn’t take like five minutes. “I just wanna get the newspaper for Erik.” We came to a corner shop, both of us pausing in front of the doors, well, what was left of them. “What the heck? What happened here? Where's the shop keeper?”

"Where are the police?" One door was open and bent in half inwards with a window smashed, the other door also had a smashed window and the lock above that had meant to hold shut had been bent, scrapes on the floor from the bottom broken lock. A light had been broken and was dangling from the ceiling. From there, whatever was in the way, shelves or boxes or tins, they had been parted like the red sea. “Well... you can't say he doesn't know how to reel 'em in.” Darcy gave me a look.

“Come on, I’ll just get him something later.” We walked past a small shop that had box televisions at the window. An elderly man was being interviewed on one of them, while a Spanish drama was on another and Godzilla playing on the one on top. “Ah, spoiler alert! I haven’t been watching this for so long. Why is Rebecca pushing Tanya down the stairs! Ugh. You know, it’s difficult to know what they’re talking about but it’s all about the Spanish action. See look, that’s Mickey. He’s in love Tanya....” I kind of blanked out of her talking about the drama and focused on listening to what the elderly man was saying. He looked familiar. He also looked frail and confused. I could feel my chest getting tighter while my hearts beat grew increasingly rapid.

 ** _“Mister Barry, can you tell us anything about the day you found out about Jacob Mable?”_** The lady who was interviewing him seemed intrigued by his blank expression. **_“He was your work colleague, your boss and your friend. How does it feel to come to terms with this sudden attack--"_ ** The man suddenly stood from his seat. His bearded friend next to him tried to get him to sit down. I could feel light tingling in my chest, like sparks going off inside me.

 ** _“No! No! She’s going to attack me! Get away from me.”_** He began to get upset.

“Woah. What’s his deal?” Darcy asked, her voice muffled.

“I’m not sure.” We continued to watch the man trying to leave but his friend was helping him to relax.

 ** _“I just want to go home.”_** The elderly man cried.

“Awww. Poor guy.” I felt Darcy tap my shoulder catching my attention. “Come on, I’m starving.”

A growing pain leaked from the back of my head. My head hurts.

*******

                                 **Asgard**

Fandral had just snatched the metallic plate of bird meat from Volstagg, the environment between started to get out of hand before Sif and Hogan split them apart.

“Our dearest friend has been banished, Loki on the throne. Asgard is once again on the brink of war against the woman we once called our friend. And yet you manage to consume four wild boar, six pheasant, a side of beef and two casks of ale. Shame on you! Do you not care?!” Volstagg slapped Fandral’s arm. Fandral slapped back before a mini slapsy battle when Sif came to stand inbetween them.

“Stop it! Both of you! We all know what we have to do, we're just too damned afraid to do it. We're all clearly thinking the same thing, but it we have no idea what it would cost us or Asgard if we were to interfere with the prophecy.”

“We must go. We have to find Thor, it might already be too late for him but we can at least try to do something.” Hogan speaks as they each glance at each other. Fandral shakes his head.

“To hell with treason. It’s suicide. We have no idea how powerful she is--"

"Now sshhh! Heimdall may be watching! It's said he can hear--"

"Yes, yes, we know."

"We need to do something now before Kára returns and takes what isn't hers. She will return. Its already been written but we have to do something, anything to stop her from causing anymore damage. Thor would do the same for us.she will kill Thor." Sir spoke, but all went quiet when a guard stopped in the doorway.

"We're doomed."

                                   ***

I’ve never been someone to bite my nails. Until now. I’m continually feeling on edge ever since my dream last night. I can’t sleep. I can’t laugh with Jane and the others. I can’t God dang think straight!

“Iris?” I could have practically jumped out of my skin and leapt out the window. I held myself together and turned to face Thor who was holding a cup of steaming beverage. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you jump.”

“It’s alright. I’m a little out of sorts this morning.” I say as I take the coffee and leant my head on the window sill, one hand clutching the hot cup, the other pinching my nose.

“Seems as though you need some well earned sleep.”

“Is it really that easy to tell?”

“Well, I don’t mean to be rude in saying this but the bags underneath your eyes speak for themselves.” I sigh as he chuckles, it’s infectious and causes me chuckle along. “Have you always had trouble sleeping?”

“Sometimes. Sometimes I’ll dream of something I never want to think about but then there are times when I just...”

“Just fall with no hesitation.” As soon as he said those words something in me screamed. But what? What connection do those words have with me? My heart started to pound. My head throbbing. I pass the cup back to Thor and stand up.

“Sorry I have something that I left in my car.” The tightness in my chest, the sparks they were growing stronger. Stepping outside into the Sahara-like surroundings, I clutch my chest where the pain continued to hit my sternum from the inside. I managed to get to my little truck in a blur, hustling and bustling for my keys and sliding them into the key slot to unlock the vehicle. As soon as I heard the click I crawled right into the passenger seat and into the back seat. Shifting myself to get my flannel shirt off, I leaned down to collect the box from underneath the drivers seat and placed it on my lap, undoing the lid to get to what I needed. Syringe. Wiring. With shaking hands I stab the needle to where the pain surged before pressing the button on the box within seconds I was breathing easy.

*******

"Did you get sight on her?"

"Yes, sir. Awaiting for next orders." 

"We won't be doing much until there's space to get her alone. We don't want to pounce too soon. Fury's orders. Just keep an eye out for her next move."

*******

I woke up probably not long after. The heat of the day was clogging up the inside of the truck. Packing away the box, I could still feel the electricity flowing through my chest, although now it was less painful than before. Something in me told me to check the bracelet tattoo on my wrist. That strange celtic serpent tattoo that I just don't remember getting, it's bold black outline stood out from underneath the lotus that curled around my wrist the same as the bracelet. It was pulsing before it did something I've never seen before.   
It started glowing. As striking as the color of lightning. That's when I heard screaming from outside. Springing from the back seat to the front, I stopped mid way in noticing a huge metal man thing at the end of the road.

"What the..." People were running and screaming away from it as fire blasts from its head. Jumping out the truck, I felt the familiar feeling, my fingertips turning black as the burning electricity ran and spread throughout my body. "No." Pulling the strands of my hair. This is so stressful! I don't want to fight this urge anymore. HYDRA needs to leave my body! "No. Not here. Please God, not here." A sudden ground shaking rumbling erupted when the metal monster shot another blast of fire all while getting closer to the town. 

_How will your God save you now? My brother might as well be a mere mortal like you._

Loki. 

_Unless you can prove me wrong._

"You leave me no choice." My eyes churning from their natural shade to pure white. Trying so hard to hold back that burning urge. 

_You're no more than a weak and senseless girl who doesn't know who she is dealing with._

I shake my head making the white in my eyes disappear. I hate HYDRA and I hate Loki. Just stop. Just stop! 

I locked my sights on the metal man and struck out into a run. My legs going as fast as they possibly carry me. I as so close when a man come to stand at a pretty close distance from it too which had me slow down.

"Thor?" I hid behind the back of a car close by. "What are you doing ya big stupid nerd." They seemed to size each other up before the metal monster turned away. A gasp slipped from my throat as it hit Thor causing him to fly backwards. That's it. Nobody hurts a friend of mine. Wait. Did I just think that? 

I ran and threw a painful electric pulse bubble at the monster, coming to stand a few feet from it. "Hey! Heavy metal dude!" I whistled to get his attention. It turned back. Fire grew in his chest.

"Iris, no!" I heard Jane's voice. I quickly check behind me to find her, Darcy, Erik and four strangely clothed people beside a floored Thor. "What are doing?" The four strangers looked as if they were confused at my appearance as if I wasn't meant to be here. I turn back to the metal thing just as it fires at me. Altogether my eyes shade white and the burning streaks back from my chest down to my fingertips and built up a huge protective shield around myself and where Thor was laying. I'm not how long I held it for but once the fire stopped, I threw the bubble at it causing him to stumble backwards.

My breathing became shallow as my strength drained with each bubble I threw.

"Iris?" I turned to face Jane. A single tear slipped from her eye, the wind blowing her hair across her face. "What are you?"

The four strangers stepped forward unsheathing their swords.

"Sif. Warriors." Thor struggled to speak as I felt my eyes slowly change back. "She's not... she is changed." Jane stays staring at me with sad eyes.

"Who are you? Really?" The electric pulse in my chest erupted once more as the four strangers focus went from me to what was behind me.

"Someone you should never have exchanged paths with." The man with blonde hair and facial hair. He stepped forward with the woman with long, black hair and gripped each of my arms.

"What are you doing?" I could hardly speak as my anxiety peaked from nowhere while a handful of strange dressed and armoured men came closer to us. 

"Were cutting your trip short. You'll be going with these guards back to Asgard where you will be brought to justice and imprisonment by Odin our Allfather." The lady spoke quite intimidatingly close to me as her grip strengthened. There's gonna be a bruise there later.

"I don't understand what's happening right now." They passed me over to the grip of the armoured men. 

"Sif, please." Thor tried to talk.

"Look, you can't do this right now. Not with that thing around. Thor is injured. I can help you." I spoke, whilst getting cuffed by the guards nodding over to the momentarily conked out machine.

"Hep us? You dont know the meaning of the word. Take her away. We have this under control." Sif glared at me.

"No, you have to let me help!"

"Get her out of here. Oh and one more thing," The lady with black hair who I'm guessing is Sif? Came back and got right in my face. "With these upgraded restraints, you won't be able to even try to hurt Odin,... Kára." 

 


	17. Where Is My Mind/Losing My Religion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Comment. Kudos & share! 
> 
> NemO3991 x

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Where is my mind?'
> 
> 'That's me in the corner.  
> That's me in the spotlight,  
> losing my religion....'

"No, you have to let me help!"

"Get her out of here. Oh and one more thing," The lady with black hair who I'm guessing is Sif? Came back and got right in my face. "With these upgraded restraints, you won't be able to even try to hurt Odin,... Kára."....

"What did you just call me?" I ask, my dry throat making my voice raspy.

"Kára. Why? Do you not like to be reminded who you once were? Your true evil self?" She comes to stand about a couple of inches from my face that I can just about taste the tension she's tethering.

"Sif, that's enough." The blonde man interrupted. I share an unsure look with him.

"I always looked up to you. Now I can only despise you--" I try to fight them off with but they are way too strong. The sound of the mechanical thing coming back to life rings through my ears. The vibrations of electricity surges through my chest again.

“Ah! Ow. No! Please, I’m begging you!” My eyes move from her glare over to Thor who looks on with a saddened expression as I struggle against restraining my own powers. “Thor! Please!” I pull against their strong grasp as they continue to try and whisk me away. Glancing behind me I see one of the guards coming closer with a pair of chunky golden cuffs. I’m now desperate to get away. They can’t take me! I've fought for too long to be in the shadows and now they're taking me away! What if they expose me in front of tons of people to answer to things that I don’t remember doing? I make an attempt to use my energy bubble to blast them away and all I get is a sudden heavy weight on both wrists in a cold grip then a rebound of electric shocks....

_.... the sparks grew stronger every millisecond I tried to stop the pain by using my source if energy to cast my protective bubble but all I got in return were heavier blasts...._

_“How did you manage to survive six hundred volts of electricity without burning alive? Hmm?” He chuckled before moving to stand then slowly walked around me seated and roped to a chair. They had beaten me a little more for escaping my room. I could really feel my bruising swelling eye, my broken rib or two. The smell of iron as blood trickled down the side of my face..._

.... the skin on my wrists is starting to burn. I can feel the essence of a familiar vibrations nearby. That familiar sensation that I’ve grown accustomed to. Their voices are nothing but muffled hums, my vision alters and continues on in a blur as golden dust shifts my feet.... I’m being lifted into the air, I try to move away from it. I managed to get one last glance at Thor before he closes his eyes then with a hit to the back of my head, my vision went black and I'm in dreamland.

My head is so heavy.

“Is this some weird, crazy ass comic con convention? ‘Cause I gotta tell ya, that’s an amazing job of teleportation. Nerds.” My words came out in a slur. Ahead of me, or above me, is a heavy shade of gold. I’m unbalanced. Am I horizontal right now? “Well this doesn’t feel too good.”

“Why is she speaking like that?”

“I think one of the guards may have hit her a little too hard.” Another voice spoke. What is going on? Who are these people? And more importantly... where the frick am I?

_You should not have come here._

“Loki?” The words spill out of my mouth in a sore whisper as I take a look at the people that are carrying me at a rather rushed pace. It doesn’t feel natural at all or maybe it was the fact that I was on my back.

“What did she just say?” They come to a stop in a huge room which held more tall golden walls and pillars then a woman I didn't recognise leant down from beside me to look down at me.

“Lady Iris. How are you feeling?” She asked almost out of breath I guess from trying to keep up with whoever was holding the stretcher.

“Like I’ve been hit in the head.” She smiled shortly before she nodded to someone on the other side of me. “Where's Thor?”

“He had to leave but will be back to check on you. We will take good care of you.” She spoke as she hesitantly picked up my wrist and checked my pulse.

_You’re here! And with my charmed induced brother nonetheless._

_**I have not charmed into anything.** _

_You should not have come here._ His voice in my head seethes.

My gut feeling starts telling me that something was wrong. Something is very wrong.

I yank my arm from her light touch and jump up awkwardly from the stretcher. They try to get me to lay back down, I should have listened, I’m starting to get dizzy from standing too quickly but I just have to help Thor.

After finally getting away, I ran aimlessly down the halls filled with the screams of men, women and children, not knowing where to go.

“This place is a-maze-ing.” I cut myself short of laughing at my own pun and start up running. “What is this place?” A few people were running down the hall I come across, distant screams could be heard down more golden halls. “I think I recognise it. Excuse ma'am?” I ask a strangely dressed lady, she screams in response, picking up her child as she found a new reason in me to run quicker. “I only wanted to ask you a question! Where is the entrance? Rude.” I sighed deeply. “Damn it!” I groan then continue on until I found a staircase. Out of a window I see that there was someone dressed in green riding a horse on a... rainbow bridge? What?! “What the heck is going on?” I pinch the skin of my arm. “Ah!” This dream is far too real to actually be real. I run down the rest of the stairs and finally find the entrance.

“There she is!” I swivelled around to find about three armoured guards as they stormed towards me, I ran out of the doors and threw a bubble of energy at them to keep the doors closed.

"Why are people after me? Where the heck am I?" That question was answered by a thundering roar coming from the end of the bridge. I watched as something flew towards it. "I wonder what this dream could mean?" I ask myself before fastly pacing my already tired legs down the long technicolor bridge. I'm running of breathe but I need to get into the adrenaline stage to move as fast as possible. 

I slide to a halt when something burst from the golden globe thing and one slipped off the side. I'm almost there. 

"Come on." Only a few steps in and I lean down clutching my knees to catch my breath. "I really need to take up running." I slap the back of my thighs and start the run once more. I watch as the one in red goes to grab the person clinging to the side, they disappear. I stop. They get jolted by the other, in green, who is now a multiple choice. "I'm seriously reconsidering my sanity at this point." 

"As you should." His voice came from behind me and an instant sharp pain enters my right hip. He keeps an arm over my chest as he holds the dagger inside me. "I told you you should not have come here." He growls in my ear. 

"You also said ...to prove you wrong." I grip his arm. "You have the wrong person."

"Oh, I don't think I do." He pushed the point in further and I couldn't help but scream in agony. "You may not be Kára but you are your mother's daughter." He let go when the other man set off lightning and Loki disappeared. I collapse to my knees, putting pressure on my wound. I check my hand to see my hand covered in my own blood. The bright lights of the globe thing made a silhouette of the man in red.

"Thor." He doesn't notice me. I'm not close enough. The bridge floor began to rumble. Then again. Then again. In my blurry vision, crawling closer before pushing myself to my feet, hand pushed into my side, Thor smashes his hammer into the floor repeatedly. Loki gets up then jumps to Thor.

"I'm sorry Jane." I hear Thor say before he hammers one last time, completely smashing the bridge. White light blinds me and throws me, Loki and Thor backwards.

I strenuously open my eyes and see a golden staff and Loki falling ahead of me. I grab a hold of the staff, knowing that we could ultimatley fall into the abyss below then Loki's wrist. A strong tug on the other end of the staff keeps us in the air, I scream as the seperation of both arms holding the staff to keep me and Loki together. 

"Iris! Hold on!" I look up to see Thor. "Just hold on!" I nod as the pain creeps up on me. 

"Why are you helping me?" I glance down at Loki who doesn't seem angry anymore. "Why don't you just let go!"

"I'm not going to let go!" I yell back. I can't help but raise my voice.

"If you're not going to kill my brother, then kill me! Redemption for the prophecy!" 

"What are you talking about?! You're all crazy! I'm not going to kill you or Thor. I have no reason to. Sure, you're a pain in the ass but I just can't let you go!"

"Loki!" Another voice came from above me and Thor. Who is that?

"I could have done it father!" Loki shouted, his face was so sad. Please don't do anything stupid. "I could have don't it! For you!... for all of us." I could see the sadness in his features. My heart hurt to see him like this. This all felt too real. Whatever someone had said after that I wasn't paying attention until Loki locked eyes with me. Without saying anything, he moved so fast I didn't notice that he pulled out the dagger from before pulled himself up and scratched my arm, I scream again.

"Stop!" The sudden jolt of his weight made him edge the dagger another way. My fingers were loosening from his wrist. "No!"

"Loki, no!" I heard Thor from above me. Loki squeezed my new wound so hard that I couldn't keep a hold of him and he began to slip from my grasp.

"No!" Both me and Thor yell after his falling body. As he fell, Loki kept his eyes on me.

"Loki." I whisper as my new found heartbreak turned to guilt. I let go.

                                       *******

  
They all dined and feasted. They laughed telling and sharing stories of new and some of the old, all whilst drinking the finest of ales. Thor, however, looked upon the crowd of men and women with sadness and despair but shares a smile as he passed warriors and maidens who had joined in the feast as all was safe ... for now.

Thor strides to his father who is watching over his palace.

Sif stands from her seat to greet Frigga.

“My Queen, I am sorry for your loss.” Sif spoke softly and carefully. Something was hanging over Sif's head but she doesn't know what. Frigga accepts the grievance and graces her hand onto Sif's arm reassuringly.

“Thank you. How is he?” She asks as they watch after Thor.

“He mourns for his brother... and he misses her... the mortal.” Sif sighs. “If you don’t mind me asking, my Queen, but what of the girl? Iris. Can we really trust her?”

“I don’t trust her but for the sake of my son, we need to give a chance. A chance for her to prove that she is who she says she is. And if Thor holds trust in her... we can at least try to do the same.” Sif nods before going back to her seat.

Thor stands behind his father.

“You’ll be a wise king.” Odin speaks never taking his eyes away from the beautiful scenery before him.

“There will never be a wiser king than you. Or a better father.” A thought lingered at the back of Thor’s mind. His traces of thought leading right back to Iris. “I have much to learn. I know that now. But someday, perhaps, I will make you proud.” Thor and Odin talked briefly before Thor wonders the palace and speaks with Heimdall too.

Going back to his room, Thor stopped in his tracks in the middle of the hallway and glanced down the hall to his right which led to the medical wing which held the lonesome girl that nobody really knew anything about. Taking a moment to ponder, he eventually felt the need to talk to her and so made his way to the medical room. He opened the door to see a single nurse tending to Iris's arm that Loki had cut. The nurse was unravelling the old cloth, she stopped her work when Thor came into view.

He smiled at the nurse and nodded to say continue. He walked to the other side of Iris's chair, bags under her eyes as she stared out of the window, in the golden rays of the setting sun reflecting onto the golden walls she was still sickly pale. Thor knelt down beside her, resting his hand on her arm.

“Whoever you are... whatever your name really is.... I do not care. I hold no grudge towards you.” He let her go and twiddle his thumbs, coming to stand beside her. “You are not who you say you are. But ... As long as you are truthful, as long as you can prove to my father that there is not a bad bone in your body, I can assure you that I will protect you from any harm. I know for certain that I can trust you. You can trust in me.”

Iris said nothing. A single tear fell from her eye as he began to walk away.

“Thor.” Her voice sounded so fragile. He stopped and turned to look back at her as the nurse helped her stand to redo the bandages on her hip.

“Yes, my lady?”

“My name is Katherine.” He smiled softly.

“Thank you.”

 

 

 


	18. Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your mind can play tricks on you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment. Kudos. Share. 
> 
> I've been thinking whether to create a Tumblr account to post this fic. What do you guys think?

_Fixing a bundle of electrical wiring in the bonnet of the red '57 chevy, he stops to collect the dirty cloth from his back jean pocket to wipe the charcoal colored grease from his hands that he got from the work he has done to fix this vintage car. 'A Whole Lotta Rosie' blurring in the background, he couldn't hear the vocals as much as the rest of the song and the thundering clap of the storm that had been looming overhead for the past hour or so._

_Usually his old friend Caleb would be here to talk and fix up cars like this. He had disappeared after his split with his girlfriend years ago, he hasn't heard anything from him since._

_Another clap of lightning followed by the rumbling of thunder wasn't enough to mute out the sound of light tapping on his garage door. For a moment he thought it was just the winds blowing, rattling it until the tapping came again stopping him from continuing his work._

_He asked his AI to check the security footage to see who it was before reaching for the spare piece of equipment to attach to the engine._

_"There is a young girl at the garage door, sir." He stopped in his work again and lifted his head to glance at the door._

_"Why would a kid be selling cookies at this hour? Tell her to go home." He walked around the car to get another fixture from his toolbox that lay on his desk that was covered in new and old car parts, paper notes and blue prints._

_"She has said that you know a friend of hers." He sighed, threw the cloth at the open bonnet and quickly moved over to the door, opening it._

_"What? What do you want?" He came face to face with a small girl. Her dark brown eyes wide from his sudden appearance that stared directly into his soul. She was drenched from the rain, her dark curly hair sticking to the sides of her face, her tomboy clothes probably a darker shade from the amount of water its taken. She still had puppy fat about her and just tall enough to touch his shoulder. "What do you want, kid?"_

_"Do you know a man called Walter?"_

_"No. Why? Who are you? And what would you want with man-friend named Walter?" She was clutching this strap of her green shoulder bag before fiddling with it to lift the piece of material hanging over the zip and brought out a photograph. "What's this?"_

_"A polaroid photograph--"_

_"Jesus. Yeah, I get that part. What am I supposed to be looking at?" He didn't even look at it, only glaring at the strange girl at his garage door._

_"I was just... I was wondering if you knew him. He used to talk to me on the tv. He always talked about Stark Industries a-a-a-and--"_

_"Look, kid. I don't know who you are or why you're here. But you need to leave. I don't know a guy called Walter-oh. Okay, no, don't cry." He started to feel uneasy, uncomfortable. He didn't know how to deal with kids especially if he was the one to make them cry. "Look I got money. You want some money? It'll get you back home, alright?" He rifled into his pockets for his wallet and took out a handful of cash and put it out for her._

_"I don't have one-"_

_"Well, you got more now, look."_

_"I meant I don't have a home." He felt kinda bad but he just wanted rid of the kid So he could be left alone._

_"Oh, jeez." He mumbled to himself. He knelt down to get to her level. "Okay. Did you run away from home?" She shook her head, no. "You sure?" She nodded._

_"My mumma pushed me away." Her little hand reached up to wipe the tears from her face as she let out a hiccup._

_"Why? If you don't mind me asking? But in short terms please, I really don't like kids."_

_"I'm sick." Right. Oh, so she got sick and now her mumma is pushing her towards a billionaire to pay for her sickness to get better. She was only here for money. He decided to play along._

_"Too bad. Here." He shoved the money into her wet denim jacket. "All better? Okay. Now go awa--" he went to ruffle her damp hair when a strong electrical shock went to his hand to throughout his body before collapsing on the floor._

Tony woke in cold sweat, sitting up straight, feeling his heart beating strong and hard in chest. He remembered. The little girl. It wasn't a dream.

It had been real.

                                    *******

Natasha Romanoff knocked on the door before stepping into the room Fury's meeting with a few agents that had recovered from the mission in Manhattan.

"Agents, if you'll excuse me." Fury stepped outside the room with Romanoff. "Tell me something good."

"I'm afraid I have some good news and some bad news. Coulson did find the girl." She opens the file and shows Fury the multiple shots taken of the girl S.H.I.E.L.D. has been searching for.

"Where is she?"

"She was located in New Mexico, close to where Coulson and his team found the hammer." She shows him a different shot of her pure white eyes and pushing back the hall metal frame of the destroyer with a force field. "This shows that it is the same girl that caused the majority of our stealth team to report to our medic ward."

"The bad news?"

"There is no history on her at all. No fingerprints. No hair strands. Nothing that leaves a trace. Even if we did find any evidence about her she wouldn't be on any doctors notes. No register. Not even a birth certificate. Newspaper articles."

"Any witnesses? Friends, family members, people that might have seen her in that hotel in Manhattan?"

"I ran a facial recognition, even the most advanced couldn't calculate her features. There's no files of existence. Friends? There's a high chance that they would have come out that friendship lucky to have with so much as even a fragment of memory of this girl. It's the same with the hotels we checked in Manhattan and on the boarder of New Mexico. Nothing. No check in details either."

"We may be dealing with something a little delicate then we original thought."

"What are our next moves, sir?"

"Where is she now?" The moment he asks that question Fury's phone begins ring. He passes the photogyaphs back to her. "Coulson." Natasha watched as Fury's face turned dark. "Son of a bitch!"

                                   ***

                                **Asgard**

Ever had an out-of-body experience? One where nothing feels real? Can it be possible to split into two separate origins of beings, floating away on one side and just being the other?

I'm not sure how long I've been sitting on this bed for? Minutes? Hours? Days? Probably not days although I have only watched the sunset once so far.

 

I've never felt so dull in my whole life.

Usually, by now, I would be moving out of here so that I wouldn't go crazy from being held down for too long. I would have all of my stuff together and disappear without a trace. Now... I'm too tired. I have nowhere to go. I'm apparently stuck here in Asgard and it's real! I'm not dreaming! I asked the nurse to slap me but she refused. 

I've found another reason to add onto my list to why I shouldn't go to sleep.

And that reason is because I feel guilty. I let go and killed Loki. I killed a God. How is that possible? How could it have been so easy? But it was and it happened and now I can't rest because whenever Thor tries to talk to me, my heart gets stuck in my throat. He pulls such a good puppy dog face. It's sickeningly sweet.

Every time I close my eyes, I see Loki. I see the way he looked up at me.

_"Why don't you just let me go?"_

I should've held tighter. I could have used my powers to save him but I couldn't. 

The creaking of a door draws my eyes to the direction of footsteps. Four guards stand by the open door. Two of which come to unlock me from my seat and pull me up. I immediately let out a little yelp. The pain in my side is more benign than how my arm is. The nurse hasn't had a chance to check if theu are fully healed yet but I also don't want to look at the scars. I want to keep them covered. I don't want to be reminded of Loki. 

I don't want to be reminded that I could have done better to help him. The guilt continues to tear me up as the guards lead me away from the medic room and around the maze of halls to god knows where. I'm so lost in my thoughts of Loki that I didn't notice that we were there already. The heavy weight of the cuffs was loosened followed by a shove into a plain white cubicle prison cell, instead of metal bars was a transparent glow mixed with golden dust molecules.

"You will here until the Allfather requests your appearance for your trial." One of the guards say. With my powers I know his name, Edward, he was born and raised in Asgard. He is old! I slumped into tiredness again. I nod at him before he leaves. 

The sound of the jungle of keys fades away along with his footsteps, I rest my back against the wall and slide down until my backside hits the cold floor. I glance around the dungeon, noticing the multiple other cubicles some filled with strange looking creatures who called at me when I came in, and some not making a sound. Some were empty. 

I feel empty. I feel guilt. The guilt is making me remember his face and his eyes. Those green eyes that pierced through to my soul in my dreams before I could feel him. 

I can still feel his hand clutching my wrist as I clutched his. 

I don't want to face Thor. He had held me tight after he pulled me up from the edge of the bridge. Odin had blankly stared at me and only me until my body slumped against Thor's... that's all I remember and then I was in the medical room.

Crossing my arms over my knees and bringing then closer to my chest, my fingers lightly touched the material of the bandage around my forearm where Loki had made his cut.

_"You shouldn't have come here."_

His voice was in my head again. I clutched my head as it began to surge with the familiar pain. 

 _"You should just let me go!"_ My body slid down until I was curled up in a ball on the floor squeezing my head.  _"You are your mother's daughter."_ My wrists started to burn. The bracelet tattoo began to light up and the other was burning with-- I groan in agony as I rip the bandage from my arm to reveal my new wound tainted with frostbite in my veins coming from the scar. The frostbite was burning that I thought my arm was going to crinkle up and devour itself. As if in slow motion, I clutched my arm while in my head was filled the numbing white noise...

_I stood at the edge of the cliff. The breeze flowing through my short hair. Through my fingers. It felt so tranquil, so peaceful._

_A storm suddenly pours over everything. Takes over the peace and turns dark._

_I hear music coming behind me._

_As I turn to see where it was coming from, the scenery changes and I'm infront of a house. The storm grows loud. The rain gets thicker, making the clothes that I was wearing before Asgard so damp that the water is seeking through and I'm soaked to the bone. As I walk to the wide door the wind blows and causes my hair to stick to my face._

_The music is getting louder._

_I knock loudly on the door._

_"May I help you?" A voice comes out of nowhere. I search everywhere for it._

_"I don't know why I'm here." I wipe my face with my wet sleeve. Wait. If this is the same place where Loki was when he had taken me into his memory, then perhaps he's here somewhere. "A friend... maybe?"_

_I stood in the never ending rain for a little while before the door crashes open to reveal a man with a weird beard, dark brown eyes. He's not Loki._

_"What? What do you want?"_

_"Who are you?"_

_"Who are you?" He asked back just as confused as I was. "What? Do you want money or something?"_

I couldn't breathe. I held the back of my head as one hand came to fall infront of my face, it had turned black. My vision gradually turned cloudy. Just before I closed my eyes, a gentle hand took mine.

"You are safe now."


	19. Me, Myself & I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Call me calloused, call me cold  
> You're italic, I'm in bold  
> Call me cocky, watch your tone  
> You better love me, 'cause you're just a clone
> 
> By the way, you've been uninvited  
> 'Cause all you say are all the same things I did
> 
> Copycat trying to cop my manner  
> Watch your back when you can't watch mine  
> Copycat trying to cop my glamor  
> Why so sad, bunny, you can't have mine?...' 
> 
> Billie Eilish- COPYCAT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OVER 1,000 HITS! 
> 
> THANK YOU TO WHOEVER HAS BEEN KIND ENOUGH TO READ MY STORY! Honestly this is amazing to me that a lot of you have read this fic so far and for as it's my first ever fanfiction I do just want to thank you so much!
> 
> I've done some research and apparently there is one year between Thor and Avengers Assemble movies. I'll get the chapters together in a short time as possible.
> 
> Enjoy this one! Sorry for the long-ass chapter.
> 
> NemO3991 x

**A few days later...**

Thor comes to stand next to Heimdall near the edge to where the Bifrost used to stand, the waterfall gracefully falling into nowhere. There is a moment of peace between them as they peer outwards.

"It will take time to rebuild what has been lost." Heimdall broke the silence, turning to the blonde prince. "You worry for the girl." Not a question. Thor sighs deeply, letting the wind sweep through his locks then nods. Heimdall glances back to the abyss. "Are you going to tell them?"

"Would it be wise at this time?"

"As wiser time as any. You may risk leaving it too late and the young girl a life imprisonment for someone else's crimes if you do not speak." Thor sighs again as he rubs his eyes, tired from the fear of Katherine waking and running away before he can tell her and especially his parents anything. He hasn't been able to get a good night's sleep because he would wake up scared that he might get a call in the middle of the night that she had disappeared but when he went to check the healing room, there she was, still softly sleeping like he should have been. He almost felt jealous of how much sleep she had been getting since she came here.

"I'm only really worried about what they will think. Will they believe me? What would my father do when he finds out?" Heimdall places a strong hand on Thor's shoulder, getting his attention.

"You will find the words, my Prince. Though you should not worry about young Katherine. She rests."

"I've checked on her every day since her collapse. I worry that ..."

"Of what?"

"I'm worried when she wakes that she'll runaway before she can find out who she really is. Or if my father doesn't listen he'll do something to harm her." Heimdall smiles shortly.

"Maybe this is a sign that now is the best time to speak. Be honest. Do not fear of scaring her. She will eventually embrace it." He paused for moment. " You were lucky to have caught her in time even if time is not necessarily her friend." Thor throws a confused expression at him.

"What do you mean?"

"As she rests, she is fighting an internal battle which no one can neither see not hear."

"Can you not see it?"

"I am unable to reach her. Her mind is clouded. It is dark and I can not get past it. Not even our best healers will be able to reach her mind, not until she grants us that permission."

"When?..."

"When she wins."

                                  *******

_Everything is pitch black._

_I stretch out my arm though I can’t see it._  
_My eyes are wide, searching for any pin hole of light._

_My feet are stuck to the ground by an inevitable force. I try to move my head to look around from where I was just in case there was anything that I might be missing. Am I blind?_

_A scream of a bird flew past the side of my face making my skin crawl when it’s wing grazed my hair. “Hello?” My voice felt strained as if something inside of my chest was holding me back. I feel powerless. “He--" The scream fly by me again. My eyes wanting to capture any light on it’s wings. I went to speak again when a voice came from above me. It was gentle, soft but speaking words I didn’t understand. I listened intently as they repeated a phrase._

**_“Så må det være.”_** _As they continued, every now and then I felt a jolt of pressure in my chest. Again. Placing a hand on my chest. Then again. My knees shaking before collapsing._

_Then again._

_The bird screams as it flies above my head before I hear it wings flap straight ahead of me. I squint to try and see it. A glimmer of a light silver reflecting off a few feathers suddenly became visible until it perched on top of a metal bar. A flame grew in a flash beside it. I reached forward and grabbed the flame torch and followed the black bird._  
_I lost count of how many paces I carefully took, trying not to step on anything weird like any puddles, or anything sharp or another foot. Breathing steadily, my heart paced with a flutter then I heard the rattling of chains before me. I stopped in my tracks, waiting for the bird to scream at me. When I felt a slight jolt of a little weight landing on my right shoulder._

_The bird stayed silent._

_"Who's there?" This caused a breath stopping silence. I stepped forward when the flame captured the shade of shimmering white hair? I took a step back when pure white eyes pierced straight through me. "I know this is going to be a stupid question and rather cliché but... who are you?"_

_"I'm you." Before I could run in the opposite direction she whipped the chains at me. I dropped the torch as the chains tightly wrapped themselves around wrists. "Don't worry. This shouldn't take long." The white haired 'me' yanks at the long trail of chains so that I lose footing and stumble forward. I held my forehead and collapsed to the floor when she landed a head butt. "Strange isn't it? You can't get knocked out while your asleep. Me .. and you... we're subconscious beings right now." White haired 'me' paced around me in circles. "I can punch and kick and physically hurt you as much as I like and you would still be asleep but... there are rules, because we're only subconscious? You don't get bruised or whatever on the outside," Her fingers thread through my dark hair, "but internally," the sudden loss of breath as she tightened the chains around my neck, "you're damaged goods."_

_When she let go, I clutched my throat and breathed in as much air as I could._

_"Pathetic."_

_"You never answered my question."_

_"Oh, yeah. The "who are you?" thing. Right. Right." She squats in front of me. "You know all of those memories and dreams or nightmares, as you call 'em, from HYDRA are basically the only clear things you remember about yourself?" I nod slightly. She widens her arms. "That's me. I'm the HYDRA weapon inside of you that they want. What they built before you escaped, yada, yada, yada." Her sarcasm sounds a lot like my head voice. "I'm the one that has locked it all in. Taken the feed that they thought they failed to train into your mind--well, our mind. But you," pointing at me, "you're the person you used to be. Your forgetting all of these important memories and shit because you're not focused. Plus it doesn't help when you have me taking over everything you take in."_

_"So... you're like my... ego?" She clasp loudly that it echoes throughout my mind, as if it had no walls and just echoed on like a wave._

_"Bravo, mini me. Bravo."_

_"Mini me? But you're in my head."_

_"Well, I don't want to brag but I'm winning. So actually and statistically you are in my head." She stands over me and begins to walk away. "Oh, and one more thing." She says before sliding me a kick to the ribs._

                                    *******

Thor quickly moves through the halls to find both of his parents, hoping that they were together in the same room so he wouldn't have to gather them. Two maids he recognises from the healing when his mother wasn’t always able to be there.

“Evening ladies,”

“My prince.” They speak in unison with a curtsey.

“Have either of you seen my mother any time today?”

“I am sorry, My prince but she has been busy with her personal enquiries. She has not been to the healing room at all today or yesterday.” Thor nodded with a thanks before making a move to his daily routine.  
He must have been inside his own thoughts because his father came to stand in front of him. They walked together.

"My son, any news on the girl?" Although not much of a question. Thor understood that his parents still thought of Kat as her mother.

"I'm not sure. I haven't visited her yet. I was just going to check on her--"

"Good. She needs to heal quickly. Your mother has taken liberty of aiding the maidens in the healing to move things along."

"I know but--"

"She needs to heal so I can get on with her trial and you visiting her everyday may slow down the process. I need you to help these gentlemen into creating the perfect prison cell for Kára after her sudden collapse." Odin nodded towards three men leaning over a blue print of a specific build of cell.

"Father, that is what I need to you about--"

"They say it can be built within five days in which time Kára should have awoken."

"Father." Thor raised his voice a little to get his attention. Odin stared blankly back at Thor. "I need to speak with you and mother in private. It is to do with the girl and I need mother to be present. She needs to hear this."

"Yes. Of course. You will find us at the dining table and I will bee sure to send away servants for privacy."

“Thank you, father.” Odin nods to two guards who wonder out the door either side of him. Thor sighs deeply and continues on.

                                  *******

_White hair me shoves me up against a wall with a knee to the gut. I was now already bleeding from a small gash on my forehead and a clogging up with blood nose. As I keel over from the hit and cough up a spot of blood._

_“That can’t be good.” If I’m bleeding as a subconscious being then I’m bleeding internally as an asleep ‘conscious' one._

_“That doesn’t look too good.” I’m starting to wonder if she’ll ever shut up. I wish my powers could work in my mind but that’s not possible if my body is actually resting. God! I’m like a Sim. I stop in my tracks mid wipe under my nose. “Got any thoughts before it’s all over?” If she was just quiet for one second. I can find a way to over take her of I could only wake myself up._

                              *******

      **S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, New York**

Natasha Romanoff was scoping every move Tony Stark made as to keep a file of a tracking record on hiss behaviour. All files had been completely checked, as members of staff had reported in of news of a ship being found in the North Atlantic Sea, the Avengers Initiative was ongoing and Natasha was set to leave for a mission to find a Doctor Bruce Banner, although with her findings into Starks browsing history and deletion of articles and papers of someone under the surname ‘Linsen', she knew she had to push back the mission by a day or two until she could find root on this ‘Linsen' person.

Whatever Stark was looking for, it was already under his nose. But why delete the searches? Was it the wrong person? Natasha types in the surname onto the computer on a specific data filing programme and a family tree came up.

“Who are you looking for, Tony?” On the internet she types in the first ‘Linsen’ with the first name and with the date of birth that seemed plausible to be around Tony’s age. “Gotcha.” She slid the files of Caleb J.R. Linsen. “He’s a Junior Associate of the King & Linsen company who sponsor and spend money on any new equipment new students that study or work at Oscorp Industries. They aren’t too big to make a name for themselves but they are one of the leadership companies that tag along with getting money from newbie students.”

“What’s the link?” Fury asks as Hill types away at her tablet in attempts to try and find more information about him and where he is now.

Natasha slides a copied paparazzi photograph printed on a piece of paper of a younger looking Linsen standing next to a woman. Fury checks it over.

“He had a fiance. Shiana Malakhov. Daughter of Russian heritage, she’s moved to New York shortly after returning from a trip in the Himalayas with some friends. There’s an article about their relationship going public, as their engagement after dating for four months.”

“It says here that Caleb Linsen was at the crossover between Stark and King some time in the 90’s but there’s nothing on record since then. He must have gone into hiding.”

“Stark and King?” Fury asks, staring at the photo.

“Yes, apparently there was meant to be a partnership or something that never got signed.” Hill says flicking through more links but finding nothing. Fury brings the photo closer to his eye, behind the two in the picture is a white banner in the background.

“Romanoff.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What was the name of the girl again?” He finally looks up.

“Malakhov, sir.”

“Hill, do a search on Malakhov.”

“Apart from that article from ‘January 1991’--"

“Try Malakhov and Stark.” She did. Nothing.

“Sir?” Hill asks setting down her tablet. Then he had another thought.

“I need those photos from the report in New Mexico and of the incident in Manhattan, right now.” Hill and Natasha nodded before leaving. "And get Tony Stark on my line!"

                                   ***

“Then he practically leapt for me and tried to stab me! He knew how much In love snakes.” Thor chuckles to himself as he tries to talk to Kat. His smile fades the longer he looks at her unconsciousness and shifts his face into his hands. “When you wake up... I will try to protect you a lot better. I know that I won’t be able to comfort you or fight you off from your own mind but... well, I mean there has to be something. Doesn’t there? People sometimes talk or fight each to get everything out there system instead bottling it up.” Thor rests his elbow on the bed and lowers his hand on top of Kat’s pale unmoving one. “You’re still so small, for a growing woman.” He plays with the tattered material of her bandage. With his free hand strokes a stray piece of hair from her forehead and tucks it behind her ear and notices an ear stud. Furrowing his brows, going into a small leather pouch tied to his armour, he pulls out a matching one.

_“I can’t let you take her, sir. She is under S.H.I.E.L.D. arrest.” The little man in a suit had said._

_“I am afraid, in her condition, she will not last long under your hold. She is an Asgardian prisoner before she was yours. She will also need healing, that we provide, and some stitches for her head.” The little man, Coulson sighed and pulled something from his pocket._

_“When you have time, give this to her. It’s hers. She lost it a little while ago.” Coulson had put the diamond ear stud into his hand._ Thor sighed at the memory but also noted that the ear stud alone was making some strange noises on the way back to Asgard.

                                     *******

"We might not have a grip on on what this girl is, where she's from or what she wants, all we do know is that she is being held in a secure place...." Fury glances over the faces of the crew that had stopped in their work.

*******

He carefully slides in the stud into the pierced hole in there other ear, he struggles with the miniscule metal brace for the back before stepping back to observe.

*******

"...We don't have any power over what needs to be dealt with the girl." Photographs of the from Manhattan and New Mexico are displayed on their screens along with a file of evidence they have collected so far. "Not until if or when she comes back to Earth. She is being prisoner in Asgard. All we can do is play the waiting game. Someone v of importance in Asgard is helping us to keep track of her every move...." A map with radiating satellite spot is in the farthest part of the circular grid, pointing to the somewhere in the galaxy, "as are we."

*******

“That was one of the most girlish things I have ever done.”  Thor said to himself, resting his hands on his hips. Suddenly he noticed spots of blood coming from under the bandages on Katherine’s wrist.

His free hand traced the material that covered her scar. From the corner of his eye he saw a hand reaching out to him that held a bundle of fresh, clean bandages. “She is healing quickly.” His mother spoke as he untied the dirty bandages to reveal the almost fully healed scar.

Thor stopped what he was doing when he saw the shape of it. With his finger he traced the outline of the jagged and lumpy lines in the shape of a capital ‘L'.

 _“Så må det være.”_ Frigga felt his presence moving beside her. “Her mind is very much awake. It is only her body that is not.” Frigga speaks as she finishes a prayer before looking up at him. “Her thoughts are clouded by something dark. Like a fog and she is in control of it.”

“How is she sleeping for so long?” He steps closer until he is stood beside Katherine.

“I'm not sure. Perhaps she forces herself to stay awake. I can not see into her mind of any memories or nightmares or anything that she may be struggling with... she is more powerful than I thought. I don’t think she knows just how powerful she is.”

“She isn’t letting you in?” Frigga shakes her head. Thor lets his head fall in disappointment when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He has been hoping to know more about what happened to her without waking her or making her tell him things that she may not want to talk about. Now he feels like he’ll never find out.

“Thor. On Midgard... what happened? How is it that you can trust this girl?” Thor leans both hands on the side of the table.

“She... She was a friend of someone that helped me. She may not have been the most extravagant of people but she helped me escape the ones that arrested me. She has goods intentions, although perhaps a little unpredictable.” He thought back to when he had made her jump before she suddenly left. It pained almost everyday to not say anything to his parents especially ever since he first saw Katherine, he needs to keep a hold of the information that still keeps a tail storm on him. It has been so long now that he wonders how bad it would actually be to tell his parents the truth. “She is not a monster. She has a good heart, mother. I trust her because of it.”

“Thor, my son, I worry for how much time you are spending with her. You have not left her side ever since she was brought here and if you do, you talk nothing of her... What about the prophecy?” Thor stood straight at looked at his mother and saw the worry in her eyes.

“What of it?”

“It says that she can take you under her spell to side with her,” He shrugged her hand off then stepped away not wanting to listen to any of it. “She may try to kill you if you stay attached to her hip.” He turns to send a confused look I’ve his shoulder. “When she wakes you should not be here at her every beck and call--"

“So what if I am? I have sworn to protect her. It was not her fault that that metal destroyer made me see things more clearly--"

“She killed your brother--"

“She did not kill Loki!” Frigga jumped back at his sudden raise. Thor saw it and calmed himself down, pacing to the other side of Katherine and gently taking her limp hand.

“He purposely injured her so that she could let go. She would not have tried to help if she had wanted to kill him.”

“How could--" Frigga stopped herself from the next question, she only wanted what was best for her son even if it seemed too late to act. Kára had already done the deed. Thor had fallen onto her side. "She has returned to Asgard.” Stuck inside his own thoughts, he quickly glanced at his mother before going back to wrapping up the wrist.

“My prince,” a gentle voice behind him spoke, he quickly turns to see two maidens with what he only knew to be healing sage and others herbs and mixing waters.

“Sorry ladies. I’ll uhh...” glancing down at Katherine then back to the pair, “I’ll leave you to it.” And so he did with another faint glance back at the unconscious girl and he knew just by checking over her fragile, sleeping form that he had to help her. The only way he knew. To tell his mother and father the truth.

 


	20. X

**Error 401**

Unknown aerial wave. . .   
Please shut down and try again.

 

**Error 401**

Unknown aerial wave. Not connecting. . .   
Please reboot device

**_“... Katherine? ... It’s time to wake up Katherine....”_ **

....... failure to transit wave. Connection lost. 

 

 **Error 401**  
Unusual aerial feed corrupting signal.  
Firewall guard stage 1 ready. . . 

 

 **Error 401**  
Rebooting device....

Device reboot complete.   
Connection information :  **X**

*******

Nick Fury steps around the helicarrier as it slowly and swiftly landed on its feet.

Missionary members of staff made their way to the planes for their next mission or place of station as Hill followed in-tow with Fury, busting herself with her tablet.

“Transmission connection is stable, sir. Confirmation of locked hospitality for ...” checking her watch, “precisely sixty hours.”

“Good. And notifications on any adjustments or movements whatsoever?” Fury asks while they both hop into a helicopter.

“None, sir. But...” he latched his eye onto her.

“What is it?” Hill slides and taps her fingers back and forth on here screen before she answers. “Hill? What is it?”

“Someone else has logged into the device. It’s unknown but... I can’t access into the devices coding. It’s only been a few minutes since I was last able to collect as much information as I could from the devices deadlock.” She passed the tablet to Fury who saw the name or even so, the letter of the alias that had taken over the slot.

“Let me see.” When he looked over the single letter of thee second connection, he knew exactly who to contact, although, not knowing exactly how they are linked to the girl who's all the way in Asgard. “Give the phone. I need to make an urgent phone call.” Hill passes him as small flip phone, he types in a number and listens to the ringing tone, when they answer, “Good morning sir, this is Director Nick Fury here. We need to talk.”

                                *******

                              **Asgard**  
 **The Great Hall**

“As you may know, Kará's trial has been postponed until further notice. It is visible of the grudge that the people of Asgard are still holding over her but we can not withdraw her powers until she is strong enough to acknowledge her sentence.” Odin spoke to the crowd of people that had turned up to heart of further news of the girl. “People of Asgard. I can promise you that Kára will be put to a life sentence stripped of her powers, in chains. She will be weak... and she will live out the rest of her life sentence here, but we must have patience.” Odin scowls over the enormous head count throughout the court as they cheer. From the crowd to where Frigga would normally be standing beside him, she smiles gently at him before trailing her gaze to their son who seems to be more tense, clenching and releasing the tension to his knuckles as he attempted to hold himself together.

As Odin finishes his speech, freeing the court of Asgardians back to their daily routines, Thor steps away immediately, his friends close behind, before either of his parents could stop him.

                    **Training Court Yard**

“What am I supposed to do? I can’t force her to wake up.”

“Can’t you shake her awake? It usually works.” Fandral asks, gulping his wine.

“No,” Thor scratches the back of his neck, “tried it. Didn’t work.”

“Slapping?” Thor stops his pacing.

“No. I refuse to hit her.”

“Pinching?”

“Fandral, no.”

“Well, you won’t know unless you try. Besides there wouldn’t be any harm in trying.”

“Hah!” Hogan said as he sparred with Valstagg, suddenly knocking the sword from his hand to the floor, sliding the tip of his own sword to his neck.

“Whether or not you let her sleep, Odin still has the hand to order her down to her private cell and he seems almost desperate to go ahead to send her down--" Sif says as she takes the drink from Fandral and takes a swig.

“But she hasn’t done anything wrong. She hasn’t even been awake for five minutes and she’s being put away into a cell like some animal.” Thor ponders out loud as he paces beside the pillars. He did not manage to find his words the night before at dinner with his parents in the way that he had thought. At all. It didn’t exactly go to plan, instead he stuttered out as reference to the upcoming ball that his parents already knew about.

“What is wrong, Thor? I’ve never seen you act this way about a girl before.” Valstagg spoke giving Hogan a playful shove with a smirk shying his lips. “Are you in love with her?” All four of them looked directly at the blonde Prince as he stopped in his tracks at even the thought.

*******

“Alright, thank you for your cooperation, sir, we'll be in touch.” Fury hung up and passes the phone back to Hill as the helicopter goes to land. “Their connection is pairable. They mean no indecent rummaging of our data but when he had tried to reach her,... her powers, it’s uncontrollable.”

“Well, of course, she’s all the way in Asgard. That’s off somewhere far into the universe.”

“That’s not a problem for them. Apparently, these people have been meaning to talk to this girl ever since their first encounter a little over five years ago, just after that first electrical storm. We should be able to reconnect with our side of the device once they've been able to merge with its main source.” Fury sighs, rubbing his eye, tired of the obstacles that this particular case was bringing. 

“How will we know when we're back in connection? And how do they know this girl. We probably know as much about her as everyone else does and you’re just going to let them interfere with our case?” Fury sat looking out the window for a moment, deep in thought, contemplating his next move. “Sir? Is everything alright?”

“For now, we have a chance to just take a step back and let it run on its own. He says that ... he’s dealt with plenty of people like her before. There’s an academy or school or whatever piling in with kids similar to her situation. He wants to talk again to come up with some sort of plan.” After landing, the doors open and they both walk into the entrance of the compound.

“Sir, I’m not sure that I understand.”

“The girl in the photos. I knew something was up after that incident. That girl in the Manhattan mission photographs is the same girl that caused the storm that night and the night weeks before that ... and five years ago? The same exact storm with the same reported currencies. It’s all her but she’s getting more powerful according to this guy that’s why they’ve come around.” He came to a stop just before he entered his office, “like I said before... We may be dealing with something else. We know about some of the things that she is capable of but we don’t know what the full risk that she will be to New York or anywhere within a maximised sentenced radius.” He storms into his office and slams the door in Maria’s face.

                                    *******

_I’m not sure how long I’ve been sitting here, but it’s finally quiet, although not without the raven making noise every once in a while to let me know it’s still there._

_I’ve been trying to think of a good, healthy memory to fight back with, just to remember who I am... but I can’t remember a whole lot. I’ve been asleep for a long time now. Not sure how much longer I can go on without letting the other me damage my body._

_“Ah!” A sudden sharp pain interrupted what was left of my inner monologue, the good one. The scar that Loki had given me, it’s burning my skin, I lightly touch it with my fingertips, snapping it back when the scar began to grow cold to almost freezing but my body is naturally trying to keep it warm so that it doesn’t break away. “How is this happening?”_

_“We're inside the mind. It’s an expendable thing. We can do what we like. Anything is possible.” Floating, she rotated herself like the Cheshire cat to stand barefoot in front of me. “Have you thought about what I said?”_

_“Yeah, I have.” She motioned for me to continue. “No.” She slumped and paced a few steps away before rushing back and gripping my throat, suddenly pressing me up against as wall._

_“You’re going to regret that decision. Can’t you see? I’m doing this for us. Those ‘memories' of your so-called family? We don’t need them. We already have each other. When your mind is empty of all of those penniless memories? We can have enough power to expand to whatever range that we want.” Her voice wreaked of patronization. I felt my breath being forced from me, with the amount of strength I had left I quickly moved to lift both my legs and shove her away. We tumbled with each other, she clawed at me as I tried so hard to fight back. White hair me, Hydra me, held me down by the shoulders with an iron grip. “You can’t win! I am a part of you! We’re in this together, no matter what--"_

_I gasp for air as she teases a memory from me... one that brings a familiar flutter..._

**_His sweet face. Those once gleaming, shining and happy hazel green eyes searching lovingly and sadly for the person I once was when we first met when we were kids. When I was a normal kid. I was here, he is with me, my mind racing a mile a minute on what to do. He's my best friend. My first love—_ **

_“Stop it! You can’t think like that!” what I was wearing, she gripped my collar and lifted me up effortlessly. “You need me!” With all of my strength, I grip her wrists, lift my leg and spring a kick into her stomach, sending her tumbling backwards as I balance myself back to my feet._

_“Let me remember! Let me keep this one please.” I growl, clutching the sides of my head, eagerly searching for anything...._

**_“Don’t tell me that you just wanna leave? Why? You have everything here. Katherine... how long have we known each other?” He had asked, he spoke softly, like every word could break my heart, piece by piece._ **

_“This was the last time that I saw you.” Tears streamed down my cheeks. It was becoming frustrating that I had to force a good, decent memory to arise._

_**Everything has changed.** _

**_“I ... I just can’t be here. It’s not you.” My hands cup his cheeks, my fingers resting behind his ears. His short, wispy, black curls gaining texture in the slow build winter blizzard. “It’s everything else and I just can't... I don’t wanna hurt you--" he softly clutches my wrists._ **

_**“Hey, hey. Look at me.” I did, he softly stroked my cheek, wiping a stray tear. “I love you, Katherine. We've been friends for far too long to just forget about this. Let me go with you. If you’re sick then you can’t do this on your own. Let me take care of you.” He says stepping closer, clutching my hands in a desperate attempt to hold me.** _

_**“No. No, I can’t...” I felt the burn of new tears.** _

_**“Then you know that wherever you go, I will always follow. Don’t back out on our promise.” I feel his thumb gracing the skin of my knuckles before it trails to my thumb tattoo. Our matching friendship tattoos of an bow's arrow. “I’ll find you then we can be together.” I could hear my grandma calling my name from the front door just around the corner from where I was hiding with him. His eyes were so captivating.** “You had come all the way from Cali to see me one last time. You knew I was planning to leave without a trace.”_ _**“I wish I knew what is going on inside your head. You’ve always been so wonderfully weird... I love you. Don’t forget it.”**_

**_“I love you too, Johnny. I won’t forget you.” Kissing his lips. “Never.” With a passionate last kiss, even though I didn’t want to let go, neither did he, I clutch his jacket, pulling him as close as physically possible before I felt him slide something into my jacket pocket as he hugged me goodbye, the warmth of his body against mine, the smell of his cologne that he would always steal from his dad’s store ... musky yet a sweet like liquorice aftertaste, he knew that I loved that one. I finally let go. His sad eyes were the last thing I imprinted into my memory before I ran down the street my babushka calling my name again through the mist of snow._ **

_“Stop!” I quickly manoeuvre away from her punch, trying to fight her off with my own weak effort punches._

_“I was happy!” I clutch her shirt. “I was happy. He made me feel normal. He accepted me for who I was.”_

_“You were never happy until I came along!” She growled in my face before I collapse backwards from her headbutt on my nose._

_“I made them happy, that’s all I care about.” I held my hand to gather the blood dripping._

_“All you did was hurt them. They didn’t care about you. Not like I do. I know what’s best for you. For us. It’s the reason you’ve killed people. Nobody wants us. They would have neglected us sooner or later, just like everybody else. There is still a list of important people in our life... and I will take them down... one by one. Because if you can’t hear me? Then I will be forced to myself very clear.” Grabbing my chin so I could directly at her. “If I can’t have you then no one else can. And I’ll make you relive every second of your losses to the ones that you hurt.”_

                                *******

“What? No. No, of course not. She’s my friend.” Valstagg came over and placed a hand on his shoulder with a light grip.

“We're you’re friends. You’ve known her for what, a week? A little over? How can you call her a friend when you’ve only just met her?” Thor sighed. Something like a light bulb went off in his mind. He searched the eyes of his friends as they eagerly waited for gossip.

“Alright. I need to tell you something, but you have to swear that you can not breathe a word to my mother or father before I do.” Each gave each other a confused look. “Do you swear?” They nodded. Thor found his words and told them everything.

                                    *******

Seven guards followed swiftly behind Odin as they marched towards the open grounds in the center of the town where a crowd of people awaited. Each one of them turning their heads, whispering or gasping at the sudden sight of the sickly pale girl laying on the cotton stretch which was being carried by four guards. The girl strikingly resembling her mother. She had forever been burdened with the matching characteristics and features that she had been mistaken and now imprisoned with the faults Kára had chosen to make.

A circular machine stood at around ten foot tall at the top of the stairs, it’s inner frame flowing with such a strong electricity that with each second pulse, a single slap echoes throughout the grounds causing the few people in the front closest to it jump back in fear at the sound. It fell suddenly quiet among the people of Asgard.

Death awaits.

                                    *******

_“He was no more than a baby then,... well he seemed broken hearted, something within him,... but the moment that I first laid eyes on him all alone... on the edge of seventeen...” I softly sang as the damage that was being drained from me. I’m awake. In my mind. I need to wake myself up._

_“Everything I have done, it’s been for me and you. And you will see that.” Her hands clutch my head, a white noise fills my ears that whatever she’s saying to me is nothing but a blur. My body surged with so much electricity that I thought I was going to burst._

_A scream rips through my lungs and out ... her body disappears from me then shoots up above my body while I gasp for air..._ I open my eyes.

 _ **“Katherine? . . . Katherine. It’s time to wake up.”**_ My body takes in a deep breath as I stare upwards to a heavenly blue sky. Fresh air struggles to fill my lungs. The white noise numbs out everything around me.

 _“Who are you?”_ the tingling of the white noise reverberated into a quiet numbing as the person spoke, almost as if he were inside my head too.

 ** _“I am an old friend. I am here to help you.”_ ** The voice sounded so familiar yet no memory of it.

 _“How can you help me? Aaaah!”_ I try to scream as the white noise comes back. I can't move my body. I want to move my arm but its so painful. How long have I been sleeping? The white noise comes back louder, screeching into my ears. _“Someone’s turning up to eleven!”_

 _ **“You need to stay calm. I can help. . . Where are you at the moment? What can you see?”** _ My eyes squint around to focus on my surroundings. Golden buildings. Numerous head count but I can't focus in on their faces, even the ones standing above me.

_“I’m not sure. I don’t remember.”_

**_“Do you not recognise anything?”_ ** I gave him the description of everything that I could see.

_**“That doesn’t sound too familiar. Katherine, what I need you to do is to take out the device you are wearing.”** _

_“What device? Who are you?”_

_**“There is an ear stud on your left ear lobe and I need you to take it away from any contact with you.”** _ I nodded, as I gradually raised my hands to take it out until I felt strong grips on my arms that lifted my weak body. Cold metal wrapped around my wrists, around my waist and at my ankles. My feet were off the ground as I was lifted upwards. “ _ **Katherine? . . .** _ “

“I can’t feel my body.” I hear my voice as if it were for the first time. So dry and hoarse that I barely recognised it.

“At least you are closer to death than we were expecting.” I lift my head to see who was talking to me. I focused on the fact that I recognise him. Eye patch. White hair. Raven screaming above my head.  
Odin.

“People of Asgard! Today we will witness the power of Kára drain to nothing but mortality--"  
“You have the wrong person. I’m not Ká--" A violent cough interrupted me, it hurt my chest. Something followed as I coughed it up. I spit the substance onto the ground below my feet. My eyes widen at the sight of blood, followed by the slow burning sensation that I knew was coming from every scar on my body.

Through my shirt I could see that they were opening up.

I look up to the sky as the warm trickle of blood left my body.

What the hell is she doing to me? I close my eyes. A strong electrical pulse shifts throughout my entire body as memories of HYDRA come flooding back.

Finally, that scream I couldn’t hear before, suddenly pierced my eardrums as every muscle in my body tensed up.

*******

“What are we going to do?” Sif asks as she stands opposite of Thor as he and Valstagg sit on the steps. “Why bring her here? Why bring a random Midgardian girl here? Why didn’t you just leave her with those men in weird suits? You don’t need to bother yourself with her.” Thor looks up from his hands.

“She needs me-- she our help. They wouldn’t have taken care of her, they would cage her away like a monster which is exactly the reason why I have to stop my father from giving her the sentence that is meant for her mother. I know that I could do at least something.”

“And yet if she wasn’t going to be put in a prison cell on Midgard then she would be put in one here anyway, no matter what you would try to do. Your plan worked out well, Thor.” Sif's sarcasm didn’t seem to settle well with the others and Valstagg made sure to let her know.

“Sif, stop it! Clearly this girl is sick and doesn’t know her own strength. Even if she is the daughter of a traitor, we can not disregard her for her mother’s faults--"

“What is that?” Fandral asks taking his mouth away from his morning snack.

“What—oh, no. I’m not falling for that again.” Valstagg said then grabbing at his belt and pants.

“No. You great lumpus! Look.” Each of their heads gazed up to where Fandral was pointing to, a pair of ravens flying above their heads and towards a large window that shone a bright white light outside in the distance, as if it were Valhalla opening up to them. The bass tumbling sound of a rapid pulse flowed through the air, followed by high piercing screams. “Isn’t that--"

“Katherine!” Thor spoke before breaking straight into a run whilst calling Mjölhnir. His friends followed until he spun the hammer and flew from the balcony down to the thick crowd below.

“Great.” Sif says, the friends swords at the ready they ran down the long way, Fandral lagging behind.

“Wait! I’ve just—hang on!”

Thor lands in the center of the crowd and pushes his way to the front. The bright light grew like a flower blooming out of its bud, that bud being Katherine.

"Found him. Over there.” Hogan points and moves between men and women until the could see the blonde prince better.

“No.” His heart strained as he saw the girl he had sworn to protect, tense and screaming and awake as she was held up by chains. He thought back to the night before at dinner with his parents. What he could have said...

_"Is everything alright?" Frigga asks as she lays a soft hand on Odin's shoulder as she softly strides past him then over to Thor on the other side of the table before she sits in her chair awaiting their meals. Thor takes a moment to share a look between both of his parents. How could he have kept this secret for so long?_

_It wasn't until the door closed that Thor felt very under pressure. He knew this day would come but he honestly didn't think it would be now. "Mother, thank you for taking over from nurse. It must have taken a lot out of you." She nods lightly._

_“The girl needs all around care.” Odin scoffed at what Frigga said._

_"Father, I want to thank you for being patient with the trial.... but there is something you both should know." Thor's heart began to beat faster but he kept himself positive, the bubble in his throat said otherwise. Odin and Frigga stared at their son. **You will find the words.** "The girl, ... she isn't ... “ he sighed deeply, he knows he has to say it, he’s opened with it. _

_“Thor?” Frigga asks in a concerned tone._

_“The girl... she errr...” he suddenly became quite nervous under their gaze. He tried to keep an eye on something else but it seem to help._

_“My son, I have some news I would like to share with the both of you. It is quite important. I hope you don’t mind me speaking.” Thor nods, almost breaking a sweat with relief. “The architects that you saw earlier... they have informed that the personalised cell may take a little longer to construct as I they are not going to continue with the idea but they have another idea. It will take a couple of days to build or possibly overnight if they wish to get it done quick enough. Hopefully the time slot won’t intrude or take any focus away from the ball we are going to have in celebration of your return my son.” Thor knew he was in big trouble. If he couldn’t get Katherine to wake up in time she would be imprisoned for someone else’s crime and he would not let that happen not when he promised to protect her. How would he be able to protect her if she is in a prison cell being drained of her powers._

Blinking out of the memory, Thor ascends the stairs as Odin pauses his speech to look at him as the screaming from Katherine continued.

“Father, I can not let you continue with this. You do not know what you are dealing with.”

“And you do?” Odin chuckles. “Stand down, my son. You will still be able to see her, although she will be but a weak mutant in our cells until the day she dies.”

“I refuse to stand down Father. She is my friend.” Finally Thor had enough and stormed over to the machine, hammer held high before throwing it down onto the tall frame. The collision causing an eruption of electricity and thunder in one hit.

“Thor!” Odin called from behind him.

Two hits.

“What is he doing?” Sif asked as she and the warriors three came to stand at the front of the crowd.

Three hits. Katherine’s weak and tired eyes turned upwards to catch Thor's. He pauses in his movements to see her white eyes glitching, a trail of blood dribbling from her nostrils. A ferocious surge of electricity hit Katherine making her thrash her head back, when it comes back down after a few seconds her hair resembling a close match with her hair. With a final hit, her busted the frame and its pulse then watched as Katherine's body slumped. All was silent throughout the grounds, and Thor knew that he had found the right time to tell his parents, and the people of Asgard who the girl truly is. “Her name is Katherine." He breathed easy. "She is my friend. She helped me after I had been sent to Midgard. Yes...she is the daughter of Kára ... but she is nothing like her mother ... and forcing her into the arms of a sentence and causing her harm in this ungodly way is nothing more than treason in itself. She has caused no harm onto Asgard.” He studied their expressions closely as well as his friends who seemed to think he was slightly mad, their faces filled with sympathy. "Although it was unknown of where Kára was exiled to... but in truth, she made a home on Midgard. She had a daughter with a fellow midgardian, I don’t know who the father is but ... Kára was there long enough to ruin just as many lives than when she was here.” Now he felt his hands shaking as he was more determined to keep the girl alive. Deep inside he knew there was still something he could for her.

“Thor, step away.” Fandral stepped forward resting a hand on his shoulder.

“I can’t. Katherine may be unconscious right now but I know she can hear me. I have sworn to protect her and I’m not about to give up on that stand now. So if you want to get to Katherine... you will have to go through me.” Thor held the glare for a moment before he turns around to face directly to the metal frame that held his friend, he squared up to the guards that stood in his way as he stepped closer to her. He stroked the hair from Katherine’s forehead before cupping her pale cheek, blood trickling down from her nose, onto her lips and dripping off her chin. A couple of drops dribbled onto his armour cuff and onto his palm. Through the collar of her dirty, unclean white t-shirt he saw a growing blood stain. But it wasn’t the only one. Her arms were bruises, they reminded him of little galaxies, his hand traces them but it stops when he sees more blood coming from her stomach. He felt a light pang in his chest. Who knows how many more she has. _How is she doing this? Is she harming herself to try to get out of this? Or are they old scars that are opening up again? If so, how?_

He was losing her quickly. He rests his head softly against her's.

“I am so sorry for not protecting like I should have... but if you can hear me.... when you wake, I will do so much better. I will be by your side, I will watch over you. I will help you get stronger... I can help you fight, even if I won’t be able to help you fight yourself.... I just need you to wake up so that I can see that in your eyes that you are the same little girl I once held in my arms....” a single tear slid down Thor’s cheek as he rests his forehead against Katherine's.

_**“...I just need you to wake up so that I can see that in your eyes that you are the little girl I once held in my arms..”** _

Fragment pieces of a memory that Katherine was sure was once a dream came together in her darkened momentary peace.

 _“Come here, little princess.”_ A tall, blonde young man held out his big arms with a huge smile on his face. The smile seemed to be infectious as the chubby eight month old baby stood on her feet and stumbled towards him. The mother gasped from behind him as he took the happy baby into his arms. _“What’s wrong. She only walks funny. I’m sure it will pass with these tiny strong legs.”_

_“No. They were her first steps....”_

*******

“You were only on Midgard for days. Yet you act as if you’ve known her for ... all of her life.” Odin’s voice breaks the silence. Thor takes a deep breath.

“Because I have.”

“What?”

“How is that possible?” Sif spoke up from behind him. He lifts his head and turns to them. His father, his mother, his friends and the people of Asgard see the pain in his eyes.

"Katherine was born on Midgard, half Asgardian and half Midgardian." His throat almost closed up. "And.... I have known of her existence since the day she was born. I... I have only been to Midgard once before, it was only for a moment.”

“I beg your pardon?” Odin asked through the shocked expressions.

“Heimdall saw it. He saw Kára in pain. She was in labour. I didn't know what to do. She had been my mentor for years and yet I couldn’t see the innocent child she bore. I still saw something good in Kára. But blaming the child or holding a grudge on the child seemed unreasonable. Especially when I finally got to see her.” His friends shared looks. “Believe me. I didn’t know what I was doing either but... once I took one look at Katherine... I knew that she wasn’t going to be anything like her mother. She’s far too intelligent for that.”

“She killed your brother.” Odin spoke. Stepping forward.

“No.” Thor stood in front of Kat's body, guarding her. “No. Loki forced her to let go. You can see by the wound on her arm that he would have done anything to cause her more harm. He forced her to do it. Please. She’s not Kára. She is fighting a personal battle in her mind... She needs us all.”

“How will you prove it? How could she prove to us that she is nothing like her mother--" Sif was interrupted by a sharp intake of breath.

“Thor. Look. Her eyes.” Hogan said and stood by Kats head. Her body twitches. A slow trail of more blood spills from her nostrils. The scar Loki made created deep blue veins to harden against her skin, that when Valstagg went to touch it he instantly retracted his hand.

“Bloody freezing! How is she doing that?” Thor quickly moves to get his friends to help him take her body down from her chains. Thor carried her head, Hogan and Valstagg holding her bleeding body to rest on the ground as he tries to calm her cold sweat. Thor leaned down close to Kat's ear, stroking her cheek. Frigga made the move as carefully as possible not to disturb the moment with her son.

“Katherine, I know you can hear me. You can win this battle with whatever is inside of you. I know you can do it. Please wake up. I need you to be here--" Kat began to tense and untense like a pulse. “Katherine—stop, please.” Thor tried to hold Kat down as her body unintentionally jolted.

“Thor--" Frigga places a gentle hand on her son's shoulder. Kat's movements stop. With tears in his eyes, Thor moved to check her pulse.

“What’s going on?”

“She’s stopped breathing.” Frigga ran over to the other side of Kat's body. “We'll need to do all we can.” She places both hands either side of Kat’s head, after a moment she speaks, “I can see her... She’s standing alone... She’s standing on the side of a cliff.”

“Why?”

“Perhaps it’s a happy place.” Fandral speaks.

“What is she doing, mother?”

“She’s just standing there, looking out at the waves. She seems to be at peace." Defeated, Thor leans down to Kat’s ear again, letting his tears stream, one or two splashing onto the matted strands of Kat's hair.

“No... She can’t be..” Frigga says nothing but holds a sympathetic yet sad expression as a silent cry erupts from Thor as he lifts Katherine's body up to his chest and holds her tight just like he did when she was that little girl. “Come back. Come back. I know you are there. All you have to do is wake up.... please.” His voice weakening. His tears fall into her hair as he places soft kisses into it.

“Is she?” Valstagg asks with a lump in his throat. Frigga looks up at him. “Is she.... You know?”

“We may have been too late.” Frigga speaks softly, stroking the stray hair from Katherine's damp skin from the stress of the torture. She sent her husband a look as if to say 'you need to fix this' before she consoled her son just as the pair of ravens, Huginn and Muninn, fly over head watching over the girl as a warm tear streams down onto Thor's hand that continued to hold her tight.

 


End file.
